In a statement issued to the wrestling media, WWE seemingly admitting defeat in the first week of head-to-head battle a few hours before the official numbers are published.

“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,” the statement read.

Early indications suggest that AEW topped the 1.5 million viewership which would even be more than NXT’s debut on USA a few weeks ago which did 1.17 million. The final numbers are expected to be published around 4:30PM ET.