TNT And Tony Khan Tout AEW Rampage Ratings Success
The inaugural episode was a monumental night for AEW
AEW’s launch of Rampage has been considered a huge success by AEW and host channel TNT.
The inaugural edition on August 13 drew 740,000 viewers with a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 key demographic, and saw Christian Cage win the IMPACT Championship, Fuego Del Sol achieve an AEW contract, and AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker defend the title against Red Velvet.
AEW President Tony Khan commented on the Rampage premiere ratings, saying in a TNT press release:
“Our goal was to come out of the gate strong and establish Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT as the place to catch the hottest commodities in professional wrestling. Coming off our red-hot debut episode of ‘AEW: Rampage’ last Friday that featured Dr. Britt Baker retaining her AEW Women’s World Championship against Red Velvet in the main event match, we’re all excited for The First Dance this Friday night at the sold-out United Center in Chicago. It will be a special episode of ‘AEW: Rampage’ that will be enshrined in wrestling history as a night that fans will remember for a very long time.”
Here’s the full press release from TNT:
“AEW: RAMPAGE” Starts Strong for Franchise with Successful Second Series Bow on TNT
"AEW premiered its electrifying new wrestling series on TNT, “AEW: Rampage,” on Friday, August 13, and ranked as the #3 cable telecast in P18-49, only trailing behind NFL preseason games. The series premiere was filmed in front of a live audience from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
See highlights below:
AEW: Rampage – Week 1 – Fri 10p-11p
396K P18-49 / 153K P18-34 / 740K P2+
+43% vs. 1st hour of Friday AEW: Dynamite premieres in P18-49
+113% in P18-49 and +30% in total viewers vs prior 4 weeks of movies
“Our goal was to come out of the gate strong and establish Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT as the place to catch the hottest commodities in professional wrestling,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Coming off our red-hot debut episode of ‘AEW: Rampage’ last Friday that featured Dr. Britt Baker retaining her AEW Women’s World Championship against Red Velvet in the main event match, we’re all excited for The First Dance this Friday night at the sold-out United Center in Chicago. It will be a special episode of ‘AEW: Rampage’ that will be enshrined in wrestling history as a night that fans will remember for a very long time.”
“The premiere episode of “AEW: Rampage” featured the reigning AEW Women’s World Champion, and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Dental School, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., defending her title against Red Velvet. Ahead of their AEW World Championship match at ALL OUT, the Forbidden Door opened once again as Christian Cage challenged Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship. Additionally, Miro defended his TNT Championship against Fuego del Sol.
“Founded by CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan, AEW is a new professional wrestling league headlined by Cody & Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Chris Jericho, Sting, Hangman Page, MJF, Miro, Darby Allin, Hikaru Shida, Dr. Britt Baker and Jon Moxley. For the first time in many years, AEW is offering an alternative to mainstream wrestling, with a roster of world-class talent that is injecting new spirit, freshness and energy into the industry.
“AEW: Dynamite” airs every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. ET on TNT and attracts the youngest wrestling audience on television. The new fight-forward show “AEW: Rampage” airs every Friday from 10-11 p.m. ET. AEW’s multi-platform content also includes “AEW Dark” and “AEW Dark: Elevation,” two weekly professional wrestling YouTube series, “Being the Elite,” a weekly behind-the-scenes YouTube series, and “AEW Unrestricted,” a weekly podcast series. For more info, check out Twitter.com/AEW; Instagram.com/AllEliteWrestling; YouTube.com/AEW; Facebook.com/AllEliteWrestling.”
