AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite

[chatty]

The problem with AEW having different rules is that wrestling fans have been conditioned to accept a certain set of rules for the last fifty years. For sure they gonof course time to time and its fine if AEW want to have their own set but at least tell us.

You have a commentary team so at that point in the natch when Moxley attacks Omega your commentators say, you might expect that to be a DQ but in AEW if there is an interferance rule where if theres more than four people in the ring and someone is attacked and taken out, the match must continue.

Easy as that.

Oh I forgot earlier that Jay and Silent Bob segment was awful, I cringed through the lot of it.

[mth]

WWE on AEW's premiere...

“Congratulations to AEW on a successful premiere. The real winners of last night’s head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a one-night sprint.”

[Peter Griffin]

booking trans folks and gay folks and giving fans with mental issues a place to have a super toxic freak out at their shows and all that happy horseshit

What the fuck is this?

Anyway really enjoyed this first show surprised how much I enjoyed the opener, Pac/Hangman was good if a little off pace wise at times. Womens match was ok, The main was fun enough and all the 'bells and whistles' worked for me. Happy days for wrestling fans.

[Murphy]

I enjoyed that. Main thing I enjoyed was that they didn’t try and do too much. I fully expected that they would.

Surprised they went that way with the women’s match, but all good.

I’m very much watching next week.

[Murphy]

MJF and Cutler was cut from the UK version for some reason.

Along with video packages and the intro. It's not like they're trying to introduce new characters or anything.

ITV is a fucking shambles, really. And they had JR dubbed over the original commentary to say 'welcome back to AEW on ITV' after adverts. Is that really necessary? No, it isn't.

[Peter Griffin]

And video packages and the open appaz, Pathetic.

[Murphy]

Aye, just edited my post, Pete. It's just bizarre.

[Peter Griffin]

I might grass them up to cody on twitter for butchering it

[Murphy]

Again, it's just so bizarre. I mean, it takes effort to actually do that to the show. And was probably the reason the show dropped over an hour late.

Hopefully these issues will be sorted out.

Thinking about it further, is it a copyright thing, perhaps? Music?

[BGMaverick]

Meltzer's ratings from the first episode:

Cody versus Guevara - 3.75
MFJ versus Cutler - NR
Pac versus Page - 3.5
Riho versus Rose - 3.25
Jericho, Ortiz, Santana versus The Elite - NR

[Nash Diesel]

I just wanted to point out that during the tag-team title match on NXT, Bobby Fish was in the ring longer than a 5 count, it was like a 27 count choking out dude, and the ref didn't DQ him. MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

[BGMaverick]

[Peter Griffin]

I just wanted to point out that during the tag-team title match on NXT, Bobby Fish was in the ring longer than a 5 count, it was like a 27 count choking out dude, and the ref didn't DQ him. MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

[Tainted Eclipse]

they need to go hard after lance archer. would be a big asset.

holy fuck could you imagine lance archer vs. dustin rhodes

[Psycho666Soldier]

holy fuck could you imagine lance archer vs. dustin rhodes

[Morrison]

hangman and dustin vs jericho and sammy guevara on episode 2. i think dustin is gonna get the world title shot in philly.

[Ringo]

God yes please.

Was just thinking about how much I wanted to see a Dustin/Sammy Guevara feud too.

[Ringo]

..

[JP]

hangman and dustin vs jericho and sammy guevara on episode 2. i think dustin is gonna get the world title shot in philly.

If I see Dustin Rhodes win a world title I may actually explode with joy.

[Morrison]

If I see Dustin Rhodes win a world title I may actually explode with joy.

getting to be there for that live would be awesome, but no way jericho loses his first defense, especially with the comic con angle they filmed and released today. there's too much stock in jericho vs cody, and dustin is just a cog in the machine for that. though i hope it doesn't somehow turn out to be hangman. i hardly enjoyed it the first time sitting at home, i have no desire to see it in person.

[Murphy]

Did Dynamite even air on ITV4 last night? Or did my Sky box just fuck up?

[Murphy]

Turns out you can’t record it in the UK. It’s unedited on a Friday night, but you have to watch it then. ITV Hub version is cut.

Fucking beyond laughable.

[Peter Griffin]

Turns out you can’t record it in the UK. It’s unedited on a Friday night, but you have to watch it then. ITV Hub version is cut.

Fucking beyond laughable.

Seriously. Fuck sake. Any reason given for the cuts?

[Murphy]

No, saw folk were on twitter complaining that the show hadn’t recorded from last night and asking Sky why. Sky respond asking for a DM and they explain. Couldn’t be arsed with it myself.

[Peter Griffin]

Complete failure.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

This UK TV deal mess is why PW Torrents exists.

Just saying.

[Badger]

Virgin’s not affected as mine recorder just fine.

Good show. Moxley did more damage to himself with that glass table bump. Also JR is much better here than he was in his latter WWE appearances.

[Tainted Eclipse]

If I see Dustin Rhodes win a world title I may actually explode with joy.

not yet, but it's something they really need to do eventually. the big emotional veteran title win.

[Morrison]

so darby vs havoc announced for this week with the winner getting the philly title shot. that's... something. makes sense to go with a lower card guy for the first, especially for a weekly tv shot. and with both of those guys being known for hardcore stuff, i imagine that's why they're being lined up as the opponent in philadelphia. I'd be super down for allin/jericho, almost zero interest in havoc. darby also ties into the cody feud, cause jericho definitively beating darby allows them to tie in the fact that cody couldnt defeat him, which will be great.

[Ringo]

I don't think Darby will be lower card for very long to be fair. He's going places. Has that automatic connection with the crowd that so very few have.

[Tainted Eclipse]

got my hopes up for dustin but darby/jericho could be an interesting match. jericho can beat him decisively to look strong and darby can get over with some hope spots, and there's an interesting styles clash.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Jimmy Havoc looks like a plague victim who got his haircut on a dare.

Darby Allin has some talent, even though his gimmick doesn't do much for me. The "skateboard punk" thing isn't for me.

But yeah, putting Darby over Havoc and then having Jericho turn Darby away in short order on TV would be a great way of illustrating that Jericho is better than Cody.

Jericho has his crew with LAX, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager. Maybe Cody could put together some guys to counter them? Darby Allin would be a solid choice.

Is AEW allowed to use War Games as a gimmick match? Because we could eventually have Jericho, LAX, Sammy G, and Jake Hager vs. Cody, Dustin, Darby Allin, and whoever else in a War Games-style match. That could be a great pay-per-view main event.

[Nash Diesel]

AEW getting them scraps.

What the hell happened to LAX? Where's Hernandez and Homicide? What about Konnan???? Then you get Jack Swagger lol. Fuck man I'm telling you, that show was pretty dope until Swagger showed up. His one good move, that sick Rick Steiner powerslam he does, he pulled that off but man....How anyone can get pumped up for Swagger is beyond me.

I'm sure they'll obviously get everything smoothed out as time goes by. But damn, who's next? Bull Dempsey? Can't wait to hear about Swagger being held down by the WWE or some weird shit.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

AEW getting them scraps.

What the hell happened to LAX? Where's Hernandez and Homicide? What about Konnan???? Then you get Jack Swagger lol. Fuck man I'm telling you, that show was pretty dope until Swagger showed up. His one good move, that sick Rick Steiner powerslam he does, he pulled that off but man....How anyone can get pumped up for Swagger is beyond me.

I'm sure they'll obviously get everything smoothed out as time goes by. But damn, who's next? Bull Dempsey? Can't wait to hear about Swagger being held down by the WWE or some weird shit.

I'm excited for Swagger/Hager because, with the exception of some Lucha Underground and MLW stuff, Swags hasn't been on major wrestling TV since WWE. He's a young guy who was like a puppy with bag paws in WWE. I think he's grown into the performer a lot of people thought they saw him as back then.

He's going to surprise a lot of people in AEW. Just watch.

[Nash Diesel]

I'm excited for Swagger/Hager because, with the exception of some Lucha Underground and MLW stuff, Swags hasn't been on major wrestling TV since WWE. He's a young guy who was like a puppy with bag paws in WWE. I think he's grown into the performer a lot of people thought they saw him as back then.

He's going to surprise a lot of people in AEW. Just watch.

I hope he does. He's worked with a variety of wrestlers with multiple styles both in terms of in-ring work and/or character work and he's just never stood out. Which is a fucking shock. Swagger was always the guy who just couldn't get to that next level, he couldn't evolve beyond a certain point.

[BGMaverick]

got my hopes up for dustin but darby/jericho could be an interesting match. jericho can beat him decisively to look strong and darby can get over with some hope spots, and there's an interesting styles clash.

There's no way it would've worked timing wise, I presume, but I think it could have been a better story to get to the eventual Cody/Jericho match if Jericho was the one who actually faced Allin earlier in this process and got the draw. Still puts over Allin, Jericho still ultimately gets his title shot and win, Cody then faces Allin leading up to Jericho and beats Allin. That creates more intrigue. Jericho didn't lose but couldn't beat Allin and Cody did.

[Donald]

I hope he does. He's worked with a variety of wrestlers with multiple styles both in terms of in-ring work and/or character work and he's just never stood out. Which is a fucking shock. Swagger was always the guy who just couldn't get to that next level, he couldn't evolve beyond a certain point.

His mic work was terrible. He had everything in the ring, but mic work and charisma eluded him. It didn't help that other guys made fun of his speech impediment. I'm looking at you, Christian.

[mth]

I loved Swagger's promos when he was champ and was talking about all his accomplishments and that all those trophies in the ring and shit. "Pound it!" *fistbumps picture of himself as a kid* Great segment. That one where his "dad" came out was also pretty good.

[Nash Diesel]

I loved Swagger's promos when he was champ and was talking about all his accomplishments and that all those trophies in the ring and shit. "Pound it!" *fistbumps picture of himself as a kid* Great segment. That one where his "dad" came out was also pretty good.

I don't know how many segments there were of him doing that stuff but I remember when he was in the ring with all the trophies and everything, it was pretty funny. He always reminded me of Chris Nowinski for some reason. The gimmick didn't scream main event World champion but they probably figured hey we'll have him win MITB out of nowhere, he'll beat Jericho, the title will make him a bigger act.

I mean shit, he was penned to win the belt from ADR at Mania supposedly, before he got busted for weed.

[mth]

I don't know how many segments there were of him doing that stuff but I remember when he was in the ring with all the trophies and everything, it was pretty funny. He always reminded me of Chris Nowinski for some reason. The gimmick didn't scream main event World champion but they probably figured hey we'll have him win MITB out of nowhere, he'll beat Jericho, the title will make him a bigger act.

I mean shit, he was penned to win the belt from ADR at Mania supposedly, before he got busted for weed.

I think I really liked those promos because he was finally showing some personality/character outside of just being a big athletic patriotic dude who was fairly generic. I'm not sure if the mic work was really that good (I just punched it up on youtube and his delivery was a little flat) but the content was good and added more layers to his character and it was so over the top (Scrabble champion, sandwich named after him) that it was entertaining even if he wasn't on fire on the stick. I dunno, felt like they were going somewhere good with his character at that time but then he ended up going to back to being fairly one dimensional and serious after that.

Anyway, what the hell's my point now? Not sure if he'll be doing stuff like that in AEW, I guess...

[Donald]

I can't help but feel like some of AEW's mission is to prove Vince McMahon wrong and show that Cody and Hager are capable of being mega stars and running a company. Cody maybe, but Hager I'm weary on.

[BGMaverick]

To be honest, the last segment/match of the night didn't really make me even more intrigued to watch going forward. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to keep watching for now, but the ending felt flat to me. I'm curious to see how the finish resonated for casual people.

[Nash Diesel]

I can't help but feel like some of AEW's mission is to prove Vince McMahon wrong and show that Cody and Hager are capable of being mega stars and running a company. Cody maybe, but Hager I'm weary on.

Cody in promotions where he's a big fish in a small pond works well for him as a top guy. But the problem is that in the WWE, he'd been there on t.v. for so long that it felt like they were never going to elevate him beyond the IC title picture. But I feel like given the time, he would have found his way into a World title program.

It's funny....When his dad died he wanted to stick with doing Stardust as he felt it would have been lame simply to ditch that persona cold turkey and go back to being Cody Rhodes. Then a couple years later he talks about how apparently he did want to ditch Stardust and go do something praising his father. Wrestlers are weird.

To be honest, the last segment/match of the night didn't really make me even more intrigued to watch going forward. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to keep watching for now, but the ending felt flat to me. I'm curious to see how the finish resonated for casual people.

I liked Moxley attacking Omega but that was really it. I wasn't high on the weird Jericho group beating the fuck out of everyone.

[BGMaverick]

I liked Moxley attacking Omega but that was really it. I wasn't high on the weird Jericho group beating the fuck out of everyone.

Agreed. I went into last Wednesday thinking I'd watch NXT first and then go to AEW after. That remained the same after the fact.

It's all not to say Dynamite was a bust. There were interesting things and I think they had some important characters not involved in the first show but NXT knows what they're doing. It feels like AEW could capture the ratings wins for the short term but NXT is going to be the actual better show.

[Nash Diesel]

Agreed. I went into last Wednesday thinking I'd watch NXT first and then go to AEW after. That remained the same after the fact.

It's all not to say Dynamite was a bust. There were interesting things and I think they had some important characters not involved in the first show but NXT knows what they're doing. It feels like AEW could capture the ratings wins for the short term but NXT is going to be the actual better show.

I agree with all of this.

And AEW has plenty of time to flesh things out. They don't really have much to go off of in terms of AEW history. They did a handful of shows and now the first tv show.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Quick update.

If the baseball ball game goes long tonight, AEW is going to air Dynamite on Tru TV - assuming you’ve got that on your cable package.

[Tainted Eclipse]

im actually looking forward to a weekly wrestling show. how nice.

[Tainted Eclipse]

super hot crowd

[Tainted Eclipse]

the bucks are so much better when they're working a traditionally structured tag match

[Tainted Eclipse]

i don't know about them continuing to book their biggest stars losing, but that was an awesome match.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Damn good match.

Private Party are what WWE wants The Street Profits to be, but done right.

[Tainted Eclipse]

i love that tony schiavone is the best commentator in american wrestling

[Donald]

I wasn't aware that Tony schiavone and Nigel mcguinness were the same person

[Tainted Eclipse]

jericho just did what it seems like no one in wrestling history has ever been able to do: shut down an annoying, outdated chant that people wish would go away but just doesnt.

[Beer-Belly]

Excellent start.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

No matter how often it happens, I’m always surprised when wrestlers say “shit” on TV.

Even on a TV-14 program, I didn’t think they used to be able to do that.

[Tainted Eclipse]

No matter how often it happens, I’m always surprised when wrestlers say “shit” on TV.

Even on a TV-14 program, I didn’t think they used to be able to do that.

i love how much he obviously loved saying.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Jimmy Havoc is what a Hot Topic would look like if it exploded and then the remnants gained sentience.

And some one of those debris made Darby Allin, too.

- - - Updated - - -

The only pain I experience from Jimmy Havoc is watching him wrestle.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Is Darby Allin’s music supposed to be a “Sweet Dreams” soundalike?

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Britt Baker, the best dentist in wrestling since Dr. Issac Yankem.

[Nash Diesel]

jericho just did what it seems like no one in wrestling history has ever been able to do: shut down an annoying, outdated chant that people wish would go away but just doesnt.

Kevin Owens did it in NXT and it was brilliant.

Maybe if Swagger didn't milk the We the People gimmick peeps wouldn't chant it. He can't even stand without standing like he did with Zeb and Cesaro.

[Tainted Eclipse]

they're killing me with a jimmy havoc match followed by a womens match

[Spudz Mackenzie]

A goth chick, an elderly Japanese lady, a Women’s Champion who’s smaller than my dog, and a dentist walk into a bar...

... and then that match happened.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Dr. Britt Baker’s mandible claw - more effective than The Fiend’s.

[VHS]

Crowd sounded barely happy it ended.

[Tainted Eclipse]

shawn "la parka" spears

[Tainted Eclipse]

i like PAC complaining about darby and havoc getting a chance at the title

[Spudz Mackenzie]

PAC/Mox on TV? Maybe a future pay-per-view match?

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Jim Cornette compared Adam Page to Barry Whendam on his podcast.

Now Jim Ross does the same thing.

They’re listening.

[VHS]

Cody's the Undertaker now?

[VHS]

How many run ins are they going to have here? Crikey.

[Tainted Eclipse]

loved the ending. great show. cody vs. mjf is going to be so good.

[Beer-Belly]

Really fun show.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Almost seems like AEW is trying to pick up that WCW nostalgia, by having The Inner Circle play the part of the NWO and Cody and his pals playing the role of the 4-Horsemen or the various WCW baby faces.

[BGMaverick]

Hot crowd for most of the evening.

It was smart of Jericho to snuff out the chant for the one fka Swagger but seems a little dubious to knock it as creatively stifling, considering that was the most over Swagger was.

They definitely are leaning into the chaos to close the show. The opening tag match was the best thing of the night to me and everything else was just alright or had potential but kind of was just there.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

The opening tag and the main event tag were good for different reasons.

Dustin Rhodes still has it. Not saying they should make him a World Champion, but when AEW introduces another singles belt for the midcard guys to wrestle for, he'd be a great choice.

[JP]

Two shows in, two huge successes.

[Supernovametalstar]

Dr. Britt Baker’s mandible claw - more effective than The Fiend’s.

JR said a real dentist using a manible claw. I can hardly believe it, or something like that. I love the digs they got in on the competition without being too over the top with it. Well, aside from Jericho, but he is G.O.A.T. so he is allowed.

[Donald]

JR said a real dentist using a manible claw. I can hardly believe it, or something like that. I love the digs they got in on the competition without being too over the top with it. Well, aside from Jericho, but he is G.O.A.T. so he is allowed.

More like B.L.O.A.T. these days

[Spudz Mackenzie]

JR said a real dentist using a manible claw. I can hardly believe it, or something like that. I love the digs they got in on the competition without being too over the top with it. Well, aside from Jericho, but he is G.O.A.T. so he is allowed.

Mauro dropped a “Dynamite in the distaff division” line about Rhea Ripley on NXT that had me pretty amused.

[Nash Diesel]

Good show. I missed the opener but saw highlights.

Trying to explain to my best friend who Orange Cassidy is, a lot more difficult verbally than just showing him clips on youtube lol.

I'm 110% soaked in to Omega v. Moxley. Personally, I would have had Omega as my first champion and have these 2 scrap for the belt but regardless, it's solid. Kenny coming out with the barbed-wire broom and tossing Mox the Sting bat in the wire, dope shit. These 2 are the main reason, by a mile, why I am tuning in.

[BGMaverick]

Week one ratings: 1,409,000 viewers
Week two ratings: 1,018,000 viewers (plus 122,000 on TruTV)

[Spudz Mackenzie]

Not sure if this is a Spoiler or not, but Kenny Omega was in the dark match main event last night against Jelly... err... Joey Janela.

What a waste of your Kenny Omega.

[Tainted Eclipse]

reports say it was a very good match

[Nash Diesel]

Not sure if this is a Spoiler or not, but Kenny Omega was in the dark match main event last night against Jelly... err... Joey Janela.

What a waste of your Kenny Omega.

They have 2 hours a week so they're going to have to spread everything out. That's why I laugh when people act like there's all these wrestlers who will be coming from WWE to AEW. The platform for AEW talent is nowhere near WWE's.

[Bagel]

Right, it's just 2 hours a week that doesn't have 100+ people to manage TV time about. Same with Impact, but I think their roster is still smaller than AEW.

[Spudz Mackenzie]

reports say it was a very good match

I don’t mind Omega. Except for his damn jazz hands.

But good Christ, Joey Janela is the drizzling shits.

Must have been a Hell of a carry job.

[Gampo]

I feel like the "Inner Circle" would be better without K-Mart TJP. Hell of a promo for the stable though.. I just got the chance to watch it.

[Nash Diesel]

I don't mind the Inner Circle sans Jack Swagger. It's even worse when as I said earlier, Jericho shits on the crowd for chanting "WE THE PEOPLE" but there's Swagger, standing at attention like he did during that whole gimmick. And as someone else said, it was the most over Swagger had ever bean (Jericho style)

[chatty]

Decent enough show. Improvement on weeknone for me.

Tag opener was very good and glad the Street Prophets err... Private Party got the win, great way to establish them and now they look a legit threat for the tag titles out of nowhere.

Enjoyed the Inner Circle promo. Set up a nice stable and everyone on it will benefit from Jericho. Probably a good idea for them to use Swagger as muscle for a while, let them slow build him whilst the stink of WWE gets washed out of him. Sammy Guevara could be a great dick heel. Santana needs to stop sticking his tongue out every half second, makes him look like he has mental problems and not in an intimidating way though.

Cant get into Allen or Havok tbh. Dont think either are good in the ring, both have weak as hell offence, they look like indie jobbers, gimmicks are crap and are the vanilla midgets to the vanilla midgets of the 90s. Just cant buy into either.

Womens match was terrible, was an utter mess and very poor wrestling filled with botches. Womens division is in dire need of help.

Moxley v Spears was a good match if nothing great, nice set up of a three way feud with Neville, Mox and Omega at the end. Hope they do something with Spears from here, he got some good heat in the Cody feud but needs to keep that momentum going.

Main event was fun enough, good way to build up Cody v Jericho but get over others each week. Nice to see multiple feuds intertwining as well.

Solid enough and improving, still stuff to iton out but enjoying it thus far.

[Ringo]

Great show in week two. Matches were fun, presentation was on point, booking was terrific. The promo from Jericho to introduce the Inner Circle was fantastic and I loved the brawl to end the show. Very good decision to have Private Party go over the Bucks to start the tag tournament. I wonder if Jurassic Express could upset the Lucha Bros as well. I'd still go with a Lucha Bros/SCU final I think.

I feel like the "Inner Circle" would be better without K-Mart TJP.

[Mackdadday]

Thought it was far superior to Raw and Nxt. They are making me a believer. Has a real best days of nitro feel to it.

[TooCool]

Week one ratings: 1,409,000 viewers
Week two ratings: 1,018,000 viewers (plus 122,000 on TruTV)

1,140,000 is pretty damn good considering it was going up against Nationals/Dodgers Game 5.

Excited to see if those numbers can rise more once the NBA Regular Season starts and TNT can get more eyes on it through advertisement.

[Murphy]

No matter how often it happens, I’m always surprised when wrestlers say “shit” on TV.

Even on a TV-14 program, I didn’t think they used to be able to do that.

It was being thrown around a lot in the Russo WCW era. A lot.

Eurgh, I'd rather not think about that.

As to this week's Dynamite, loved the opener, obviously, and I loved the Jericho promo. The rest was ok. Havoc and Allin took a while to get going, but was half decent in the end. Crowd struggled to get into it. Glad Allin got the win. Quite enjoyed the main event and shenanigans.

I agree that Omega and Mox is going to be great. PAC being in the mix too.

Oh, and it appeared to be uncut in the UK on the ITV Hub this week...

[Tainted Eclipse]

sammy guevara instantly became a hundred times better by turning heel. arrogant pretty boy works for him much better than random flippy babyface.

[Murphy]

Yeah, Guevara screams heel.

[lotjx]

I have no idea why the main page has the story being AEW dropping from 1.4 to 1.01 being world ending while only bringing up the pre-empt at the end. The real story is NXT has your cancelled next week, because PSYCH reruns can do a better rating.

[Nash Diesel]

I have no idea why the main page has the story being AEW dropping from 1.4 to 1.01 being world ending while only bringing up the pre-empt at the end. The real story is NXT has your cancelled next week, because PSYCH reruns can do a better rating.

They're not saying it's world ending. What does your last sentence mean? "NXT has your cancelled next week" ?

[lotjx]

.075 is a borderline death number. They have cheap advertising as well as continuing to decline. If it didn't have the WWE logo on it, I would give it another month until it was canned.

[Nash Diesel]

.075 is a borderline death number. They have cheap advertising as well as continuing to decline. If it didn't have the WWE logo on it, I would give it another month until it was canned.

Based on what though? Have you looked at the average numbers for non-WWE shows on that channel? NXT gets better ratings than practically everything but Raw. And unless you work for the network, you can't really speak on what is or isn't a "death number", especially in 2019. Ratings are not the end all be all like they were 20+ years ago. Especially for the USA Network.