AEW Dynamite ran without WWE NXT competition for the first time this week and they received an outstanding reception. Dynamite garnered a .44 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 1.2 million overnight viewers. WWE certainly noticed this strong number.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer heavily implied that AEW’s big viewership number was “a huge deal.” He then spoke about the WWE releases and reiterated how those releases came before the viewership numbers for an unopposed AEW Dynamite came in.
“They cut [Samoa Joe] on Thursday morning, not Thursday afternoon or Thursday night. Things changed greatly in that couple of hours. The mentality was very different Thursday morning over Thursday night, very different. So, you know if he can get cleared, there’s a lot of stuff he can do right now. It’s a good period for him and there are a lot of places that would want him.”
It’s unclear if WWE would have still released those ten Superstars if they knew AEW Dynamite clocked in with over 1.2 million overnight viewers. We also have to wonder if Vince McMahon would have still allowed Chris Jericho on the Broken Skull Sessions.
Apparently, “things changed greatly” and “the mentality was very different” from Thursday morning to Thursday evening.
Transcription by Ringside News