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Tony Khan Wants AEW To Keep “Challenger Spirit”

By Lyle Kilbane • Published 12th October 2023
Tony Khan AEW

Tony Khan is remaining upbeat after Dynamite’s head-to-head with NXT.

The 10th of October generated a lot of buzz in the wrestling world as NXT and AEW Dynamite went head-to-head with stacked shows.

Dynamite saw Adam Copeland wrestle his first bout since joining AEW as he defeated Luchasaurus. New champions were crowned as Hikaru Shida dethroned Saraya for the AEW Women’s Championship while Orange Cassidy was a late replacement for Jon Moxley but was able to defeat Rey Fenix for the International Title regardless.

WWE pulled out its own big guns for NXT with main roster stars such as Asuka, The Brawling Brutes, and Dominik Mysterio competing on the show. But the real star power came in the form of LA Knight, Cody Rhodes, John Cena, and even The Undertaker who all appeared.

As a result, WWE NXT drew an average total viewership of 921,000 viewers and earned a 0.3 rating in the 18-49-year-old demographic.

Meanwhile, AEW Dynamite drew a total average viewership of 609,000 viewers and a 0.26 rating in the key demographic, making NXT the clear winner of the Tuesday Night War.

Tony Khan thanks fans for sticking with AEW

Taking to social media, Tony Khan thanked those who tune in for Dynamite and said his company has come a long way from its first press conference in a parking lot:

“Thank you all who watch @AEWonTV! On any other Wednesday, #AEWDynamite would be on TBS now! Thanks to you AEW wrestlers + staff! We’ve come so far from a startup in a parking lot; we all teamed up to put on a great show last night! I hope that we always keep our challenger spirit”

AEW Rampage will be the next show broadcast for Tony Khan’s company on the 13th of October and spoilers for that show can be found here. Collision takes place one night later and will see Bryan Danielson challenge Christian Cage for the TNT Championship.