AEW Dynamite Tops WWE NXT in Ratings Battle for 2nd Straight Week

AEW Dynamite, headlined by two TNT Championship tournament matches, topped WWE NXT in viewership for the second consecutive Wednesday.

According to Figure Four Online's Bryan Alvarez, Dynamite averaged 693,000 viewers during its two-hour broadcast on TNT, while NXT garnered 637,000 viewers on USA Network. 

The finals in the TNT Championship tournament were officially set for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 23, as Cody defeated Darby Allin in the first semifinal to open the show and Lance Archer beat Dustin Rhodes in the other semifinal, which also served as the main event.

Archer and Jake "The Snake" Roberts have had Cody firmly in their crosshairs ever since they debuted in All Elite Wrestling, and Archer will finally get the opportunity to go one-on-one with Cody at Double or Nothing with a title hanging in the balance.

In other happenings on Dynamite, Best Friends beat Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc in a No Disqualifications and No Count-Outs tag team match. Brodie Lee defeated Marko Stunt, and both Wardlow and Shawn Spears won squash matches.

NXT closed with what was likely the conclusion of the feud between Keith Lee and Damian Priest, as Lee defeated Priest cleanly to retain the NXT North American Championship.

The return of NXT women's champion Charlotte Flair to in-ring action on the black and yellow brand also occurred with Charlotte beating Mia Yim by submission in a hard-fought match. After the bout, No. 1 contender Io Shirai confronted The Queen.

Additionally, the tournament to crown an interim NXT cruiserweight champion continued with Isaiah "Swerve" Scott beating El Hijo del Fantasma and the underdog storyline involving Drake Maverick taking a positive turn, as he upset Tony Nese.

Candice LeRae brought her new attitude to NXT as well and impressed with a win over Kacy Catanzaro, while Dexter Lumis beat Shane Thorne after starring in next week's main event. Imperium attacked Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher during The Newly-Bros Show.

NXT is advertising an absolutely stacked show next week with Velveteen Dream facing Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. Shirai faces Charlotte for the NXT Women's Championship, and Finn Balor makes his return after getting attacked last week.

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