WEDNESDAY NIGHT WAR:
AEW DYNAMITE vs. NXT
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
AEW = Fight for the Fallen opened with Cody defending his AEW TNT Championship against Sonny Kiss. This match felt like the true break out for Kiss, with Cody putting in a monumental effort to put The Concrete Rose over. Cody may have won his 12th consecutive match in style, but the journey to get there was extremely entertaining.
Jon Moxley defended his AEW World Championship against Brian Cage in an interesting encounter. It was hard hitting and hateful, with Cage displaying the ability that attracted Tony Khan to him. Moxley looked like he hadn’t missed a step following his quarantine, however Taz throwing in the towel made Moxley look strong whilst protecting Cage’s character. Overall, match quality was strong.
NXT = Keith Lee offered Dominik Dijakovic the first shot at both his NXT North American Championship and NXT Championship, with the frenemies putting on a great match. Dijakovic looked strong in defeat, whilst showing enough fight to suggest that he could defeat Lee the next time they face off. This was a strong match to kick off Lee’s reign as a double champion.
Tegan Nox challenged Io Shirai for the NXT Women’s Championship, and despite putting on a great performance, Nox was unable to topple Shirai. Nox came close, but Shirai’s strength was truly irrepressible. Overall, match quality was strong for the main part.
WINNER: AEW
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
AEW = Chris Jericho cut a promo on Orange Cassidy to explain how he was not only the better man, but how he single handedly won the ratings war. He refused a rematch, stating how he is better than Cassidy. This was a beautifully cocky promo, with Le Champion coming across really well, whilst Cassidy benefitted from his involvement.
Jon Moxley delivered a short but sweet promo against Brian Cage, highlighting how he will target the surgically repaired bicep of the challenger. Moxley looked hungry, which was brilliant to see.
NXT = Keith Lee kicked off the show with a solid promo to explain how he would be a fighting champion, which brought out Dominik Dijakovic to challenge him. Both men spoke well, with Lee in particular coming across strong on the microphone.
The Timothy Thatcher video package was well produced, as it reinforced just how dangerous he has become.
WINNER: AEW
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
AEW = Chris Jericho initially denied Orange Cassidy a rematch, only to change his tune once he had become the victim of a juicing. This is a great development as their match last week at Fyter Fest was off the hook.
There was an interesting character development with Kenny Omega, who seemingly took his frustrations at being doused in beer earlier in the night by FTR out on Mario Stunt. It will be highly interesting to see where this leads Omega over the next few weeks.
NXT = Keith Lee confirmed he will be a fighting champion, agreeing to a title match straight away with Dominik Dijakovic. Damien Priest noted after his victory that he would be keeping an eye on the winner of that match, whilst Scarlet came to the ring after Lee's match to seemingly challenge him on behalf of Karrion Kross. This suggested that there would be multiple people vying for Lee’s title at once. With a while to go before the next TakeOver event, there is a lot of time to start building towards the next great NXT Championship feud.
Dakota Kai attacked Io Shirai to close out the show, therefore coming good in her threat from a few weeks ago to challenge Shirai. This was a great way to end the show as it automatically made their upcoming feud feel important. This is by far the best manner in which to make Kai feel like a distinct threat to the NXT Women’s Championship.
WINNER: NXT
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
AEW = Fight for the Fallen was a solid show, with the usual slew of strong matches being well complimented by solid promos. There was less of a pay-per-view feel to the show this week, but Fight for the Fallen did not disappoint.
NXT = NXT was an entertaining show, with a good mix of matches and storyline development. The show wasn’t as strong as the two episodes of The Great American Bash, but it was still a strong show nonetheless. The pacing for the show was great as it was well structured.
WINNER: NXT
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
AEW gains points for Inner Circle being juiced on. It was really satisfying to see Chris Jericho be humiliated, and it was even sweeter when Le Champion continued to moan about being sticky whilst on commentary.
AEW also gains points for making Sonny Kiss look strong. Booked well, he could easily be a fixture at the top of the card on AEW shows.
AEW also gains points for keeping Tony Schiavone off the show due to a delayed COVID-19 test result. This may not have greatly affected the show, but it showed a level of responsibility to protect both wrestlers and other staff.
AEW loses points for the dangerous looking Super Canadian Destroyer from Marko Stunt to Matt Jackson. Not only was it an unnecessarily dangerous move, but it added to the continued dilution of the move.
NXT gains points for having Io Shirai vs Tegan Nox headline the show. There appears to be an increased focus on women’s wrestling in WWE at the moment, and neither woman disappointed here. This was a fitting way to close out the show.
NXT also gains points for the Timothy Thatcher video package. It is so simple, but it makes Thatcher look absolutely dangerous.
NXT loses points for Karrion Kross relying on Scarlet too much to progress his feuds. Yes, she is a strong manager, but it would feel more intimidating for Kross to set up his own feuds by unleashing his undoubted strength on the roster.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: AEW (+3 / -1) / NXT (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = AEW
With a score of 4 to 3, AEW wins this week’s Wednesday Night War. Both shows featured a World Championship match, with each brand adding an extra title match to their respective shows. This made each show feel important, however the match quality was superior on AEW’s presentation of Fight for the Fallen. NXT featured better storyline development, but this is not to discredit either show as the overall quality was high.
This was yet another fine example of how strong Wednesday nights are for wrestling. Both shows are winners, but AEW was just a tiny bit better than NXT this week, but only by the absolute smallest of margins.
That's my pick for the better show of the week, but how do YOU stand?
Which was better, Dynamite or NXT?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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