Mercedes Moneâs debut sparked a huge ratings increase for AEW Big Business, as All Elite Wrestlingâs newest CEO drew 801,000 viewers with a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 3% & from last weekâs disappointing 779,000 viewers and 0.27 in 18-49. Mone (FKA Sasha Banks) headlined a star-studded Dynamite television special, which Tony KhanâAEWâs other CEOâcalled AEWâs biggest show yet.
âOf course. I promise I will not disappoint the fans tonight,â Khan told Scott Fishman of TVInsider.com (h/t Yahoo.com). âThere has been an influx of huge names, and tonight is the biggest show yet.â
âThis has become a popular destination that top stars seek out,â Khan continued. âThis is the perfect time to continue expanding and growing. That is what tonight is all about. AEW Big Business. With such a strong group of wrestlers in AEW today, weâve come so far from the beginning of 2019.â
AEW Dynamite: Big Business featured the debut of Mercedes Mone, who finally joined AEW after over a year of speculation. AEW opened with Moneâs debut in her hometown of Boston, Mass., similar to CM Punkâs famed AEW debut in Chicago, Ill. Mone debuted her new âCEOâ theme music, which sampled Beethovenâs Symphony No. 9âa classic theme that was once sampled by current historic WWE Intercontinental champion GUNTHER.
In front of an impressive crowd of 9,500, Dynamiteâs biggest attendance in months, Mone cut an emotional promo to begin the show. Moneâs friends and WWE Superstars Bayley, Naomi and Tamina were also in attendance to support their friend in her big moment.
âYou wanna know why Iâm here? Because I need to be here,â said Mone. âI want to be here. AEW is the only place where this revolution can be global. And we are going to make that happen.â Mercedesâ promo was a course correction of sorts following a brutally honest moment during a podcast appearance where she admitted she expected to be back in WWE someday.
AEW Big Business Ratings
- AEW Dynamite Big Business Viewership | 801,000
- AEW Dynamite Big Business 18-49 Rating | 0.27 Rating
âI know Iâm going to be back there one day. Itâs not over. I have a lot of unfinished business in wrestling in a lot of places,â Mercedes told Evan Mack on the âKick Rocks Wrestling Podcast.â
Moneâs AEW debut received mostly positive reactions from fans and media as she looks to kickstart a promising, but struggling, womenâs division.
âI really, really enjoyed it,â said Tommy Dreamer on âBusted Open Radio.â
âI was a little shocked that it happened first, then I said if you kind of think about it, most of these things go long and if you have a whole show before it, then you have to rely on the person speeding up their debut.â
The Rockâs promo on SmackDown two weeks ago opened the show, while his promo this past week was saved for the main event segment. WWEâs strategy of making fans wait for the biggest star on the show led to an increase in viewership. Given AEWâs moderate increase in total viewership, itâs highly likely that AEWâs quarter-hour ratings for Big Business will tell the same story.
Mercedes Mone Could Have Done Even Bigger Business
Though Moneâs drawing power was certainly impressive in her first week, one cannot help but wonder how much bigger the business could have been had Tony Khan advertised her appearance, especially with just 801,000 average total viewers. CM Punkâs unadvertised AEW debut in Chicago sold out the United Center, and drew Rampageâs biggest rating of all time with over one million viewers. But Punkâs AEW debut was a happening, one filled with Easter Eggs where AEW did everything but mention Punkâs name to hint that he would be there. Even in this situation, had AEW advertised Punk, Rampageâs already record-setting numbers could have been even bigger.
AEW used a similar strategy with Mone, except with far less dog-whistling to the point where only the most hardcore wrestling fans knew of Moneâs debut.
âI meanâI still thinkâum…I, I, I. Ugh, okay. I canât even believe that the most elementary thing that [Bryan Alvarez] said, that they should have advertised this, that people got up and arms,â said Dave Meltzer of âWrestling Observer Radio.â
âDo you realize thereâs actually a reason why they advertise matches for the last 140 years? WWE is very hot right now, but even so, when The Rock is on, they doâin fact they did bring him in as a surprise, but they now promote him.â
The Rockâs advertised appearances in WWE have led to some of SmackDownâs biggest numbers since moving to Fox. This includes Fridayâs SmackDown, which was No. 1 across all of television.
The other elephant in the room for Mercedesâ AEW debut is just how effective Tony Khan will be in leading and booking her. Through CM Punkâs disastrous tenure in AEW, the wrestling world learned that dealing with strong personalities isnât Khanâs strong suit. Mone and Naomi infamously walked out of WWE in the middle of a Raw taping following a dispute with management. If similar issues arise in AEW with Mone, Tony Khanâs ability to handle these situations will be a crucial part of booking AEWâs revamped locker room (one filled with more talent and egos than ever) to its full potential.
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