WWE sets Survivor Series viewership record with CM Punk debut and Randy Orton return as it torches AEW in head-to-head battle with Rampage and Collision suffering record low numbers

WWE set a Survivor Series viewership record, with sponsorship up 25 per cent from last year.

The key talking point of the Survivor Series saw CM Punk made a shock return to WWE after nine years away, while Randy Orton was also back after an absence of 18 months.

Speaking after the event, Triple H was full of praise for the latest edition of the Survivor Series.

As reported by Inside The Ropes, he said: 'Tonight was the highest-grossing Survivor Series in history. As a matter of fact, the highest-grossing event here with the exception of WrestleMania [22]. It was neck and neck with WrestleMania but that is something special here. 37 years of Survivor Series, to be the biggest one ever. 

'Sponsorship is up 25% from last year, then the viewership, just spectacular tonight. We opened up the show with the Women's WarGames match. Right out of the gate by far the largest viewership of all time and it just grew throughout the evening. We don't have the final numbers yet but we will, and this one was a whopper.' 

While WWE enjoyed excellent viewing figures, the same couldn't be said for AEW, who suffered record low figures.

AEW Rampage had an average audience of 233,000, which is down 43 per cent from the 2022 edition. In the 18-49 demographic it had an average of 83,000 viewers, down 44 per cent from 2022. 

Meanwhile, Collision averaged 294,000 viewers, down 50 per cent on the average audience from 2022. With regards to the important 18-49 demographic there was an average of 104,000 viewers, which represented a fall of 39 per cent compared to 2022. 

Punk's return in his native Chicago certainly got everybody talking and it came after he spent a couple of years with AEW. Prior to that, Punk had been away from wrestling for seven years.

His departure from WWE in 2014 came the night after the Royal Rumble in 2014 as he expressed creative frustrations and also anger at the lack of medical care taken with him at the time.

Seth Rollins has spoken out on CM Punk's return to WWE. Rollins reacted angrily when Punk entered the arena.

Rollins said: 'I'm not going to waste any more breath on somebody that's been gone for 8 years,' he said on the mic at the end of the show. '[Someone who] has done nothing but try and tear this place down.

'Instead I'm going to take my time and use my breath on talking about the people who've been here all along. That's everybody in the back who's made WWE the hottest ticket in town, that's every single one of you who are here tonight.'