Jim Ross Says AEW’s Falling Viewership Is ‘Far From A Disaster’

AEW was getting close to 1 million weekly viewers, and then the coronavirus distracted the entire planet. Jim Ross isn’t concerned with the slumping ratings. He’s been around long enough to know that there’s always next week.

While speaking to Wrestling Epicenter, the WWE Hall Of Famer said that there’s no knee-jerk reaction to AEW’s ratings. He’s not worried and can see AEW’s place on the schedule in comparison to how they are performing.

Jim Ross was in the thick of things during the Monday Night Wars. He’s obviously been in pressure situations before. Tony Khan received a lot of praise in the process as Ross continued to explain that ratings aren’t the most important thing.

“No knee-jerk reaction. I’m not worried. You said the numbers are going down – True statement. In certain demographics… This is far from a disaster. With our show sandwiched between all the WWE shows on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, our audience is still finding us. The empty arena stuff affects everybody. It isn’t the usual ambiance that we’re all used to. Sometimes, as you said, the fans are as big of a part of the show as anybody. Our audience are very young, defiant, and make a lot of noise. All of us really miss that!”

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“The numbers thing… Look, I learned a long time ago. We got our ass (WWE) beat 83 weeks in a row by WCW and I was in the talent relations chair. We didn’t have time to worry about the ratings because in 6 days after you got the ratings, you had to do it again. That’s not a lot of time to moan about it or to celebrate. So, the ratings right now, for me, I’m not worried about it. It means nothing. It means something, obviously. But, we’re doing just fine and we know where we’re going.”

AEW was able to defeat WWE NXT in the ratings this week. They lost the two previous outings. Tony Khan said next week’s Dynamite is the best episode from any pro wrestling show in months. Let’s just see what they end up pulling off.

AEW plans to start recording live content again in May. There is no word on whether Jim Ross will start making those trips during a pandemic.