Tony Khan Addresses Criticism Of AEW Collision Ratings

Ratings for AEW Collision have declined since the show's debut month in June 2023, with Wrestlenomics noting that total viewers for June 2024 are down 43 per cent from the month that Collision premiered. Viewership in the key 18-49 demographic has fallen even further, dropping 56 per cent for June 2024 when compared to June 2023.  

AEW CEO Tony Khan, though, appears to be happy with the ratings and after one X user said Collision had produced "1 year of shocking ratings", Khan fired back: "Yes Derek, speaking of 1 year and shocking, I was also thrilled when the 1 year anniversary Saturday Night #AEWCollision beat UFC head-to-head, 7 days ago. What a great way to celebrate 1 year of @AEW on Saturday Nights on TNT!"

AEW Collision on TNT did draw better ratings than UFC Fight Night on ESPN 2 on Saturday, June 15. The one-year anniversary of Collision averaged 431,000 viewers and a 0.13 rating while UFC Fight Night averaged 387,000 viewers and a 0.11 rating, according to Programming Insider.

Matches and segments featured on the June 15 episode of Collision included House of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang, Hechicero vs. Dalton Castle, and a Christian Cage Father's Day celebration. 

Tony Khan may have singled out drawing higher ratings than UFC as the company is closely linked to WWE through the merger under TKO Group Holdings that was completed in September 2023. AEW and WWE have regularly taken public shots at each other since 2019 and WWE even spends thousands of dollars to receive AEW Collision and Rampage fast national ratings.