Hi there! And welcome back to the Wednesday Night War series. Coming off the heels of a hugely successful Revolution PPV, this week’s AEW Dynamite needed to drive the product in to the future. Not only that, but it was doing so against a stacked NXT card with not one, but two steel cage matches. Here’s the links for all the Wednesday Night War series below.
#1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – #7 – #8 – #9 – #10 – #11
#12 – #13 – #14 – #15 – #16 – #17 – #18 – #19 – #20
Wednesday Night War – Week #21
-AEW Dynamite-
AEW has been on such a role lately, I’m not sure NXT can do anything. How does this episode stack up in the grand scheme of the Wednesday Night War? Can we even call it a war anymore? Let’s find out.
The Good
– I’m usually against AEW name dropping (or subtlety insulting) WWE to seem momentarily ‘cool’, but I was all for Jon Moxley making the World Championship and professional wrestling seem important. It was refreshing to hear Jon Moxley paying tribute to everyone who made AEW happen.
– The opener had some decent action, and I especially enjoyed some of the combinations from The Dark Order. Colt Cabana got the fans chanting for him as well! Which is a big win.
– Big Swole got a win, but it was only against Leva Bates. I guess she moves up the rankings a little? So that’s a positive, but no telling who will next face Nyla Rose.
– By far the biggest moment of the night (of any show) was Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts surprising the world by calling Cody a ‘little bitch’, and ‘Caesar’. What a heel! Twenty years on and he’s still one of the best in the game. Yeah sure, he’s a teeny bit rusty.. but what do you expect after being out of the game for so long? He created a lot of intrigue over who his client will be.
– Pac and The Lucha Brothers are a dream team, but that’s the only good thing I can say. Of course, it was always gonna’ be a good match between him and Chuck Taylor as they’re pro’s.
– The best part about the whole post-match beatdown (after Hager vs. QT Marshall) between The Inner Circle and The Elite, was Hangman Page flipping Matt Jackson the bird and his reaction.
– MJF knows how to hit the right notes with his promos. His lines are definitely channeling some of the greats from a couple of decades past; and it’s crazy to think he’s nowhere near reached his full potential yet.
– Darby Allin going it alone shows his courage and never say die attitude. The fact he took on the full Inner Circle by himself, cements him as one of AEW’s top stars for years to come. And while many will have predicted Moxley escaping the night, The Inner Circle did a ‘Shield’ and delivered on Chris Jericho’s promise. It keeps the feud rolling along nicely, while keeping the fans second guessing (they chanted ‘Fozzy Sucks’ after Jericho said he would leave for sixty days if his promise was not fulfilled).
The Bad
– They set the bar pretty high lately. In saying that, I think the opening segment dragged on too long. It was bordering on WWE levels of wasting time, although the former champion always had the fans reacting. The face response of ‘Shut Your Mouth, I’m Tired Of Hearing You Talk!’ is a tired cliche which I hope AEW phases out.
– Big Swole getting a win over Leva Bates isn’t impressive. The two librarians are on the bottom of the barrel and can barely make it on to Dynamite these days. Britt Baker added nothing on commentary.
– What is with making Cody out to be a serious loser? He begged and cried for a match with MJF, lost .. and now he’s being called out for crying by a legend. AEW can’t keep letting Cody do this to himself or it could hurt his image. He needs a win soon, and to establish the fact he’s not a whiny crybaby. Although, I guess it’s not easy booking a guy who is one of the company executives without fans crying foul.
– While Pac vs. Chuck Taylor was a good match, I couldn’t stand Jim Ross talking about ‘these kids’ like they are rookies who need to build their muscle mass to reach the next level. It felt like he was insulting Taylor’s physique, like he doesn’t train hard enough. I can understand wanting to motivate them to become great singles wrestlers in the next few years, but making these remarks on live TV felt weird. Probably trying too hard to find something to say about them.
– Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard are STILL (caps for overly dramatic effect) looking for a tag team partner. If after months of searching you can’t find someone to team with you? The overall consensus is that you absolutely suck; or stop looking already?
– One does not simply book a beast of an athlete like Jake Hager twice in the same week. Even more so against someone no one cares. And what’s more mind-boggling? Is how long it took for Hager to put his opponent away. When did QT Marshall become anything other than a jobber? Dustin Rhodes teaming with him because? And why does Cody suddenly care what the Inner Circle are doing with his brother? MJF moved on and he just needed something physical to do after being so viciously assaulted by Jake The Snake’s verbiage?
– ‘Death Triangle’ is not very imaginative. Wouldn’t ‘Death Triad’ (or something Spanish) sound way cooler? Either way, the main issue I have is they randomly threw this team together with no story whatsoever; aside from they targeted Best Friends around the same time. Pac gets on a mic and announces it out the blue.. so they’re a stable now? Isn’t he meant to be a ‘bastard’? The kinda guy everyone hates? He’s a loner who probably shouldn’t be playing well with others. I guess he needs help handling the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy? Which is a little sad, as he probably shouldn’t be stuck in the mid-card.
-WWE NXT–
NXT heads towards TakeOver: Tampa with a mission to get back in to this fight, and the big matches keep being announced. This week, we get a double dosage of steel cage injected directly. Not only that, but we may get lucky and find out the answer to ‘Why Johnny, Why?’. Also, what is Velveteen Dream’s endgame?
The Good
– What I loved about this episode is they came out swinging with yet another heated match between Tegan Nox & Dakota Kai; this time in a steel cage. And they’re building this feud nicely because Nox hasn’t beaten Kai clean yet. Gonzales played her part in an innovative finish I’ve never seen before.. trapping Nox between the cage and the door itself. I don’t know how, but they’ve got me invested in this after a rocky start.
– Finn Balor cuts another solid promo, this time pre-recorded. Walter is a beast and I can’t wait to see what happens when he faces Balor; who is easily his biggest challenger to date. Even more so than Dave Mastiff, who he beat on this week’s NXT UK. Balor’s the kind of talent who could take it off him, so Walter should be worried; but he’s also got Imperium watching his back. It’s gonna’ be epic at TakeOver: Tampa.
– Seeing some of Rhea Ripley’s back story was refreshing, as it reminded me of old NXT when they shared personal stories and got us feeling things. The first NXT Champion at WrestleMania? That’s crazy how WWE hasn’t done it before now.
– I was a bit critical of the Chelsea Green and Kayden Carter matches, but this encounter with Shotzi Blackheart was different. Why? Because Shotzi’s won matches and done things like eliminate Shayna Baszler from a battle royal. It finally made me take notice and say.. whoa, they’re treating her like a serious competitor.
– The cryptic message has to be Killer Kross. If it’s not I want my money back! Wait, I didn’t pay anything. Oh well, I still want my money back if he doesn’t debut soon.. the show desperately needs more characters who can cut promos.
– A close second for moment of the night was Cameron Grimes getting booed to holy hell. Even the mighty Keith Lee had a tough time keeping the crowd quiet enough for Grimes to talk. They need to play on this fact by making Grimes grimier. I like that play on words.. a grimier Grimes is what NXT fans can really not get behind.
– Wow, Austin Theory has a massive head considering he’s done nothing yet. Isaiah Scott did right to get in his face and challenge him. And they had a great match! These two kids have a long way to go, but Austin Theory’s being bred as the ‘next big thing’ of NXT. Can the fans get behind him? Or will he get the Roman Reigns treatment?
– The Undisputed Era vs. Lorcan & Burch will always be quality. I’m enjoying how NXT is building it’s tag team division up again after The Broserweights took the titles. I’m a big fan of the GRIZZLED Young Veterans, as they will SOON(!) be the number one tag team. I bet William Regal books a three-way and GYV will claim them at Tampa. But where do they go from there? Will The Broserweights split up and The Undisputed Era turn face? Or will they bring another team in to the fold?
– Boy, did that Mauro Ranallo interview go south fast. We still didn’t learn anything, but at least it gives us fresh insight in to the mindset of Johnny Gargano. It’s almost like a mirror image of what we had with the original feud, as you can imagine Tommaso Ciampa acting like this. It’s the best thing Johnny’s done outside the ring in a long time. It gives me way more intrigue compared to what transpired last week.
– While the main event steel cage match didn’t have anything new early on, the fans will remember the way it ended. Velveteen Dream’s a unique character, and only he would purposely lose a match to essentially win the mind games battle. I figured Dream would come back from injury and target the NXT Champion right away, but when he didn’t? It made me ask questions. Turns out Dream’s crazy, over-the-top games were done to entice the Undisputed Era in to a position where he could send Adam Cole a huge message. He wants to be the man of NXT, and Roderick Strong was merely a tool to get him there.
The Bad
– The Undisputed Era are still looking like chumps against one opponent. How can you be the most dominant faction in WWE if you consistently struggle to handle one opponent?
– Some may say WWE ‘hot shotted’ the steel cage matches on to the card, and while this may be partially true, I think it made sense for these feuds. My biggest gripe about steel cage matches in WWE is they aren’t brutal enough. Still, the talent did their jobs well. I can understand how some viewers saw this as a response to AEW debuting their steel cage a couple of weeks ago; which if true, isn’t a look WWE wants to encourage.
Conclusion
This is a tough choice for the first time in over a month. NXT had the better wrestling, along with some memorable moments. AEW’s booking was questionable, but all around provided a good amount of entertainment. On that basis, it becomes a matter of perspective and what you enjoy from a show. If you like a family friendly product with plenty of matches? NXT wins. Want something more edgy and random? AEW wins. The cool thing is NXT & AEW are catering to both sides of the coin, which is exactly what the Wednesday Night War has been about since the beginning.
Personally, I didn’t enjoy Dynamite as much as I’d hoped going in. Outside of Jake Roberts, not much else made me feel like it was must-see TV. And I ain’t saying most of NXT was either, but at least it felt more important. It’s been a while since I questioned AEW’s booking this much, but I think it’s warranted. A lot of head scratching. Kudos to them for taking risks, but it felt random and not much stuck. NXT however, was a far smoother experience. So yeah, I know some will probably wanna’ drag me to the gallows for execution.. but NXT won this round. But it’s so, so close.
I took Jake Roberts out of the equation because I’m clearly biased (in the good sense). I shouldn’t let the return of a 64-year-old legend cloud my judgment. NXT won, but they had to throw the kitchen sink at it. Recovering from the Revolution hangover, AEW still managed an entertaining show; and I ain’t calling it a disaster by any means. NXT needs to be worried, because Dynamite will only get better from here. AEW is still firmly winning the war with a score of 9-7-5, but I’m glad that NXT finally pulled one out of the bag after struggling for weeks. Please let me know what you think in the comments? And I shall see you next week for more in the Wednesday Night War! Thanks for reading.
PS: I don’t allow ratings numbers to define how much I enjoy a show. It’s a small indication of how each are doing, but it’s not the be-all and end-all measuring stick.
Wednesday Night War – WWE NXT vs AEW Dynamite
