Notebook: AEW ‘Dynamite’ ‘Blood & Guts’ match scores big in ratings

I was all set to write about how matches like the “Blood & Guts” main event on last night’s AEW “Dynamite” need to go, because there’s no way people still care about multi-man matches that take up an hour and don’t deliver much in terms of tangible results.

That was before I got a look at the Nielsens for last night.

“Dynamite,” in an extremely rare occurrence, actually had a better second hour than its first hour, from the TV numbers.

Per Wrestlenomics, “Blood & Guts” – featuring five-man Team AEW vs. five-man The Elite – started at an average of 732,000 viewers in the 9-9:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour.

Technically, the match began at the end of that QH, with the ring entrances of the first two participants, Jack Perry and Darby Allin.

From there, the QHs averaged 758,000, 811,000 and 801,000, with an 853,000 average for the 10-10:06 p.m. ET overrun.

The 8 p.m. ET hour averaged 790,000 viewers, according to Wrestlenomics.

The 9:15-10:06 ET stretch, by my math, averaged 797,400 viewers.

So, I now have to change course with my criticism, from, why did Tony Khan book another stupid interminably long multi-man match, to, what made you want to watch that nonsense for 51 minutes?