Authors Of Pain Plan In-Ring Return, AEW Viewership Almost Year Low

The Authors of Pain were released from their WWE contracts in September 2020. Rezar and Akam have not competed in that squared circle since. However, that’s about to change as they are planning an in-ring return.

Authors Of Pain Plan In-Ring Return

As per Fightful Select, AOP is gearing for a return to the ring. After 26 months, the two are planning a comeback.

As some fans may recall, Fightful reported last year that someone had reached out to the AOP and was told by Rezar that, he’s “not a wrestler” anymore. Many assumed that the two decided to retire, but that doesn’t seem the case at this point.

After the above was reported, AOP and their former manager Paul Ellering stated they were not “done yet” with wrestling. With that said, there hasn’t been any information of a return, since then.

More Details On Authors Of Pain In-Ring Return

While promoters that Fightful spoke to about booking the tag team hadn’t heard back from AOP, the report also notes they are planning a return. In fact, Rezar and Akam reached out to talent about an event in Dubai taking place in early June.

AOP debuted in the WWE during the June 2016 NXT TakeOver event. During their time with the company, they scored both the NXT tag titles and the RAW Tag Team Championships.

AOP’s release from the WWE was one of the more shocking cuts. Here’s hoping this incredible tag team gets back on its feet.

AEW has been riding a high wave since it started out back in 2019. There are ups and downs with every promotion over the years, and the company experienced a dip in ratings recently.

AEW Viewership Almost Year Low

According to Showbuzz Daily, the Nielsen ratings for AEW Dynamite’s live edition last Wednesday drew 833,000 viewers. This is a decrease from last week’s show by 9.55% (drawing 921,000 viewers).

Source: @voiceswrestling, Twitter, Screenshot

As per Wrestlenomics, Dynamite had a rating of 0.32 within the key 18-49 demographic, which was down just over three percent from last week’s 0.33 rating. This 0.32 rating represents 421,000 fans.

Moreover, Dynamite ranked number four on the Cable Top 150 for the week when it came to the 18-49 demographic and its rating of 0.32. They hit the same rank last week. 

The show ranked number 36 for viewership for that night on cable. This is actually an increase from number 37, the week prior.

Still, last Wednesday’s show drew the lowest viewership in its regular timeslot since May 19, 2021. At that point in time, the episode went up against an NBA “play-in game”.

More Stats On This Week’s Dynamite

This was the second-lowest key demo rating for AEW Dynamite in 2022. The first was the February 16^th show of this year.

The viewership for this week’s show decreased from 24 percent when compared to the same week, last year. In fact, the key demo rating also decreased by 24 percent when compared to 2021.

Interestingly enough, Wednesday’s Dynamite was a special one, airing live from Baltimore, Maryland’s Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The show featured top stars like Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Jeff Hardy, as well as qualifying matches for the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament.