Dax Harwood Defends AEW Collision Ratings Dipping Below 500,000 Viewers

All Elite Wrestling's new Saturday night series, AEW Collision, had a tough night in the United States ratings for the July 1 episode on TNT, with the show only averaging 452,000 viewers and a 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The show recorded similar ratings to AEW's B-show Rampage which airs on Friday nights at 10 pm ET.

The July 1 Collision saw a 24 percent drop in total viewership and a 37 percent drop in the 18-49 demo from the second episode that aired on June 24. The July 1 weekend proved to be tough for TV overall due to preparations for the July 4 celebrations.

The July 1 show did come in lower than what Warner Bros. Discovery are hoping to draw in the ratings from AEW Collision.

Dax Harwood has now defended AEW Collision's viewership, responding to criticism of the show from former WWE commentator Jonathan Coachman.

"Hey Coach. We're trying to build a brand. It will take time; we understand that. Hopefully you do too! This roster absolutely loves wrestling. Like, an entity. LOVES it. I know you probably can't relate to that. Will this Saturday night tv show endeavor work? Who knows. What I……do know is, we'll all work our asses off to MAKE it work. I hope you, & people like you, give us an opportunity to show you, professional wrestling IS alive. I know you know how Monday nights work, but maybe you'll give us more than 3 weeks to make this work. If not, you’re..…more than welcome to tell me I'm wrong. What I'm not wrong about is, wrestling fans love wrestling. And we'll always work to make them proud. Give us a chance," Harwood tweeted.

The latest edition of AEW Collision is set to air on Saturday, July 8. The show will be headlined by the men's Owen Hart Foundation tournament semi-final match between CM Punk and Samoa Joe, who will go one-on-one for the first time since March 2005.

Cultaholic Wrestling has an account on Threads! You can follow us here.