Will Ospreay on AEW’s Low Ratings: Motivated to Bounce Back

Will Ospreay has been one of AEW’s top stars since he finally got the promotion in March 2023. As International Champion, he bled his sweat among many other notable opponents and has left a big dent in the roster. The TV ratings pulled in this past week’s episode of AEW Dynamite were concerning.

It has drawn only 502,000 viewers, with a rating in the key demo of 0.16. Down about 30 percent from the previous week’s 681,000 total viewers and a 0.23 rating in the demo on June 12, this week crept up a bit, with 680,000 total viewers and a 0.22 rating in the 18-49 demo on June 26.

Worth noting: this week’s show had Big Bang Theory as its lead-in, whereas that record-low ratings week did not.

Ospreay’s Response

Speaking to CBS Sports in an interview, Ospreay replied to the low ratings, not differing from what he expected.

“It sucks that it was such a low rating, but it’s just motivating me, and I’m sure it’s motivating others to try and think out of the box and come back swinging,” Ospreay said. “I’m not a guy who looks away from that kind of s—.

I see it and take note of it. I put it in the checkbook, and I make sure whatever we do next week, we come back swinging.” He said one has to learn and listen to criticism. “We shouldn’t ignore the criticism or shyness away from it.

We’re still a five-year-old company, and we’re still hitting the ropes with these things. For me, AEW still got a lot of growing pains they gotta go through,” he added. He acknowledged the challenges of being a relatively new company.

“If we look back five years to what WWE was doing, they were at a low. But the way that they’re thriving right now is inspiring to everybody. That’s something that should hit. We must change the bar and find out what to do to mix things around.

I am, as I said, not one to shy away from it. I enjoy criticism.” Such an outlook towards making things turn around pretty much tells you Will Osprey is dedicated to AEW’s success. He accepts the challenge and, at…