Jeff Jarrett draws a couple dimes for AEW

AEW’s first Friday of 2023 was a live double feature of Rampage in its normal 10pm ET time slot, and their fifth Battle of the Belts special immediately following at 11. Both did better than the previous editions.

Rampage had an audience of 551,000 with a .15 rating among 18-49 year olds. It continues the roller coaster performance for that show, up 15% and 25% from the week before.

BOTB5 didn’t hold all of those viewers, but it did perform better than its fourth edition. It’s 409,000 viewers were a 29% improvement over the Oct. 7 Battle of the Belts IV, which also aired live on a Friday. Last week’s special did a .11 in 18-49, a more modest 10% improvement over its predecessor.

The shows finished 30th and 58th among cable originals. Competition came from ESPN’s NBA doubleheader (which won the night on cable as usual), the return of RuPaul's Drag Race on MTV, and the Speaker drama in the U.S. House of Representatives. That Republican vs. Republican feud wrapped up during Battle of the Belts, which may have been a factor in its live numbers.

Not a bad start to 2023 for AEW’s end-of-week shows, we don’t think. Let us know if you agree. Here’s a rundown of Rampage’s recent viewership and demo performances, and all of the BotBs:

Rampage

• April 1 - 456K / .15
• April 8 - 600K / .25
• Apri 15* - 482K / .22
• April 22 - 518K / .19
• April 29 - 464K / .14
• May 6* - 292K / .11
• May 13* - 340K / .12
• May 20* - 410 / .15
• May 27* - 341K / .14
• June 3 - 475K / .14
• June 10 - 476K / .16
• June 17 - 331K / .10
• June 24 - 422K / .12
• July 1 - 486K / .16
• July 8 - 428K / .15
• July 15 - 435K / .14
• July 22 - 428K / .17
• July 29 - 375K / .11
• Aug. 5 - 468K / .15
• Aug. 12 - 528K / .17
• Aug. 19 - 461K / .12
• Aug. 26 - 431K / .11
• Sept. 2 - 485K / .16
• Sept. 9 - 429K / .14
• Sept. 16 - 470K / .14
• Sept. 23** - 522K / .17
• Sept. 30 - 472K / .16
• Oct. 7 - 440K / .13
• Oct. 14 - 458K / .17
• Oct. 21 - 480K / .13
• Oct. 28 - 378K / .12
• Nov. 4 - 455K / .14
• Nov. 11 - 456K / .11
• Nov. 18 - 445K / .14
• Nov. 25* - 411K / .11
• Dec. 2 - 361K / .08
• Dec. 9 - 457K / .11
• Dec. 16 - 464K / .15
• Dec. 23 - 566K / .18
• Dec. 30 - 470K / .12
• Jan. 6 - 551K / .15

* Aired at a time other than 10pm ET
** Two-hours

Battle of the Belts

• Sat., Jan. 8 - 704K viewers / .27 rating
• Sat., April 16 - 527K / .18
• Sat., Aug. 6 - 437K / .12
• Fri., Oct. 7 - 317K / .10
• Fri., Jan. 6 - 409K / .11

For complete results from the latest Rampage & Battle of the Belts click here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here.

Numbers via Showbuzz Daily