AEW: Backstage Reaction to Grand Slam Australia Ratings on TNT, Adam Cole on His Post-Match Hug with Malakai Black Incident, AEW International Title Match Set for 2/26 AEW Dynamite Show

Feb 20, 2025

Backstage Reaction to Grand Slam Australia Ratings on TNT

As noted before, this past Saturday’s AEW Grand Slam Australia show drew 502,000 viewers and a 0.21 key demographic rating on TNT.

AEW CEO Tony Khan recently reflected on Twitter celebrating the ratings numbers for AEW’s Grand Slam show and Collision currently being on his favorite run of episodes in series history.

Our last show, AEW Grand Slam Australia on Saturday, was one of my favorite events ever, +
it did one of the biggest #AEWCollision ratings ever on TNT!

The past 4
Jacksonville
Huntsville
Houston
Brisbane
are my favorite run of Collisions ever!

See you for #AEWDynamite TONIGHT!
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) February 19, 2025

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated Khan and others within AEW were pleased with the viewership numbers for their Grand Slam Australia show.

It was reported that AEW officials were also pleased with the strong lead-in number from the NBA’s All-Star Saturday Night event and the positive momentum heading into their show.

Those spoken to within Warner Bros Discovery reportedly stated that they could also see similar opportunities for strong lead-in programming and could be a mutual benefit for their current media rights partnership with AEW. Khan reportedly has also been a strong advocate of having the NBA All-Star Weekend as a lead-in for Collision.

Adam Cole Comments on His Post Match Hug with Malakai Black Being “Cool Moment with a Friend”

As noted before, Adam Cole and Malakai Black’s match on the November 6th episode of AEW Dynamite was notable for a post-match hug by Cole and Black and Black reacting as he left to the back as if it was his farewell match from AEW. Black’s contract with AEW expired earlier this month and his is currently expected to return to WWE.

A recent episode of the In The Kliq podcast featured Cole as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Cole’s thoughts about his post-match hug with Black and if he knew what was going on with Black in AEW at the time.

“No, I really didn’t. I do have a history of working with Malakai, just an unbelievable opponent, an unbelievable guy to step in there with. We’ve shared a lot of really, really cool moments together. So for me, all it was was this personal moment between two guys who have a lot of love and respect for each other. I didn’t know anything about what his plans were or things like that. For me, it was just a cool moment with a friend after getting to work together after a long time.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com