WWE NXT Has Beaten AEW Dynamite in 48 of the Last 52 Weeks

Tony Khan believes AEW is having one of its best years ever. But while Dynamite just hit its six-year milestone, the celebration lands next to a brutal reminder—NXT on the CW has been crushing them in the ratings.

During a new interview with Forbes’ Rob Wolkenbrod, Khan reflected on AEW’s growth, calling 2025 their strongest year yet across both television and pay-per-view.

“As we head into the six-year anniversary show tonight, AEW is still making great memories, maybe more than ever,” Khan said. “This year we had our highest U.S. attendance at All In Texas, which I believe was the greatest show we’ve ever done.”

He credited AEW’s rise to three key factors: “the best wrestlers in the world, an incredible staff, and the most loyal fans we could ever hope for.” Khan also addressed AEW’s streaming success, especially with HBO Max coming into the fold.

“AEW has been delivering great pay-per-views for years, but I think 2025 has been our most consistent run of both TV and pay-per-views,” he explained. “Some thought that Dynamite on TBS and Collision on TNT might lose viewers to HBO Max, but in 2025 our viewership has actually gone up compared to where we ended last year.”

He backed that up with numbers from previous quarters.

“If you look at Q4 of 2024, and then all of 2025—first quarter, second quarter, and now as we wrap up the third—we’re ahead of where we finished 2024. It’s been a really great year.”

But while AEW keeps touting momentum, Forbes writer Alfred Konuwa quietly delivered a sobering update. He revealed that NXT on CW has beaten AEW Dynamite in the ratings 48 out of the last 52 weeks since moving to broadcast television. Even more, Konuwa pointed out another powerful stat:

“More importantly, every single day in the history of NXT on CW, the men’s NXT champion has been Black.”

That includes Trick Williams, Oba Femi, and now Ricky Saints—all holding the top spot while NXT thrives on network TV. AEW may be celebrating with pyro and press quotes, but NXT is quietly owning the scoreboard—and doing it with a consistent message and visible diversity at the top.

Do you think Tony Khan is ignoring the growing gap between AEW and NXT? Or does AEW still have the momentum to flip the narrative before the year ends? Drop your thoughts below—we want to hear from you.