Tuesday Night Tug of War Leads To Memorable Night For AEW and WWE
WWE has a challenger.
And the wrestling world–especially WWE–is a much better place because of it.
Courtesy AEW
WWE’s NXT brand runs every Tuesday night, but this week, thanks to the Major League Baseball playoffs airing on TBS, AEW’s flagship Dynamite program was moved from Wednesday to Tuesday. That meant wrestling fans were graced with some head-to-head competition, bringing out the best in both brands.
Dynamite opened with Christian Cage in the production truck, mocking Adam Copeland before announcing his decree that the first 30 minutes of the show would be commercial-free.
While that was happening, Cody Rhodes was making his way to the ring on the USA Network for NXT.
As Rhodes started his promo, Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland were being introduced for their match.
Very quickly, it was easy to tell this was a great night to be a wrestling fan.
Rhodes made three announcements: there will be a Men’s Breakout Tournament, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is returning, and Shawn Michaels anointed him the special guest GM for the evening. NXT champion Ilja Dragunov then entered the ring, but before he could articulate his point, he was interrupted by Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. After a back-and-forth on the microphone, Rhodes announced that Dragunov would wrestle Mysterio in an NXT title match–and that LA Knight would be the special guest referee. Before you could even process that, John Cena was seen pulling up at the PC. In an instant, Roxanne Perez was introduced before her match against Asuka.
That 15-minute block captured the brilliance–and frustration–of WWE booking. Yes, there is endless star power. But the stories do not always make sense (why would LA Knight be randomly inserted as special guest referee?), and the focus on wrestling often feels secondary. That does not mean the segment wasn’t entertaining, but it is healthy to have an alternative–why is precisely the role AEW is fulfilling.
Throughout that whole segment, Danielson and Strickland (yes, two former WWE talents) were wrestling. They crafted a physical, compelling bout, won by Danielson after Hangman Page was responsible for costing Strickland the match. It makes far more sense to have Danielson challenge TNT champion Christian this Saturday on Collision, but it felt like Strickland took a step backward resuming his program with Page after seemingly just finishing it.
Clocking in at just over six minutes, the Asuka-Perez match was quick, but it hopefully set the table for a longer bout. Asuka won the match, and if you are keeping track, WWE delivered another cameo in Shotzi Blackheart. Next up was the no-disqualification “Pub Rules” match pitting Tyler Bate and the Brawling Brutes against Gallus started, and as that was taking place, Powerhouse Hobbs manhandled Chris Jericho on Dynamite. It is rare to see Jericho lose cleanly, but that was exactly what happened. A nice touch was the note from commentary later in the broadcast that Jericho was hospitalized due to the punishment he absorbed from Hobbs.
The first disappointment of the night, ironically, represented a positive moment. AEW had announced the return of Jon Moxley for Dynamite, marking his return after suffering a concussion on September 20. If it felt like too quick of a turnaround, that’s because it was. There was absolutely no reason to rush Moxley’s return, especially given the nature of his injury. If that costs AEW in the ratings, then so be it.
In Moxley’s place, Orange Cassidy defeated Fenix, regaining the International Championship. That changes the storyline, but there are plenty of directions to take once Moxley returns fully healthy.
As the first act of Toni Storm’s silent film (which was played in as commercials aired, adding a new grievance for Storm and providing people a reason not to change the channel), John Cena entered the NXT ring. Instead of dueling microphones with Paul Heyman, Cena shared the moment with Bron Breakker, who did a respectable job holding his own with one of the best to ever do it.
Cena also had the honor of appearing on TBS during the Dynamite commercial blocks with an advertisement for his Wipeout show that returns to TBS next month. There were plenty of genuinely fun moments throughout the evening, especially Paul Heyman attempting to discuss the importance of The Bloodline with Ava Raine, who is the daughter of The Rock.
In the opening minutes of the second hour, NXT started with the Dragunov-Mysterio title bout. Out of place as he was, LA Knight was the guest referee, although there were plenty of other ways to better utilize him (and the crowd was more into Knight than either of the men wrestling).
AEW countered with “Switchblade” Jay White against Hangman Page. One of the frustrating elements to CM Punk’s firing from AEW was that he was working with White, putting a tremendous spotlight on the former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star. Had Punk wrestled only another month or two, it would have paid dividends in introducing White to a much wider audience in North America.
White rolled up Page after interference from Prince Nana, further continuing the Page-Strickland feud. Back on NXT, with help from Trick Williams and LA Knight, Dragunov fended off interference from Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh to win the match against Mysterio. There was a particularly interesting moment after the match, as Baron Corbin appeared to be next in line to challenge Dragunov–until Dijak laid out the champ. This is a perfect feud for Dragunov, as he and Dijak combined for an extraordinary Last Man Standing match in May that Dragunov won.
WWE brought more surprises to NXT with Jade Cargill pulling into the PC parking lot. She was welcomed by Shawn Michaels, and there was another unexpected moment backstage when Trick Williams hinted to John Cena that he has grown tired of Carmelo Hayes.
It wasn’t all in-ring action for AEW, either. Dynamite had its own comedy skit with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett. It had its moments, both good and bad. Hopefully we will be treated to more of Toni Storm’s silent film, but this time with the full screen. Storm holds the distinction of being the only performer on screen to capture people’s attention in this Tuesday night battle without saying a word in two of her three segments.
Not everything was in good taste. The segment between MJF and Bullet Club Gold featured a moment that was, at best, unnecessary, when Juice Robinson pulled out a roll of quarters with MJF’s name on it. There will be more to this feud, but a renewed focus on the world title would help all involved.
The night moved quickly. Depending on when you turned the channel, you may have missed a moment, like with Wardlow’s quick-but-effective segment.
Even though it won’t detract from a great night of wrestling, there will be a close focus on the ratings (and 18-49 demographic). AEW had a chance to gain viewers from NXT by airing its women’s title match of Saraya against Hikaru Shida while NXT aired Lola Vice and Dani Palmer wrestling in the Women’s Breakout Tournament.
Shida delivers a violent approach, but Saraya–after all her neck injuries–is simply not the same performer she once was. This was one of Saraya’s better matches since her return, primarily because she plays the role of the villain in dynamic fashion–and Shida is a phenomenal babyface. With the crowd behind her, Shida won and became the first-ever three-time AEW women’s champion.
Confetti was falling on Shida as she celebrated her three-peat, all while John Cena and Carmelo Hayes were treated to Paul Heyman introducing Bron Breakker. As that match went to commercial break (it still aired on a picture-in-a-picture), Christian Cage cut a scathing promo on Adam Copeland and his family. The beginning of the Copeland-Luchasaurus match was well executed, as a furious Copeland stormed to the ring yet fell into a trap when Nick Wayne held his leg and Luchasaurus delivered a vicious boot to his face. That set the stage for Copeland to be cast as the underog babyface, a role he plays especially well.
Two minutes past 10pm ET, Hayes defeated Breakker. Cena and Heyman left ringside after Solo Sikoa attacked Cena, and the fireworks continued after the match. Breakker speared Hayes, but the lights went out and The Undertaker arrived. A mixture of The American Badass and the real-life Mark Calaway, Taker stood face-to-face with Breakker, who refused to back down. Taker dropped Breakker with a right hand, then laid him out with a chokeslam.
I never would have thought I would watch Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita re-enact their own version of a scene from Love Actually during a commercial break (while another Cena/Wipeout commercial aired), and I definitely did not envision seeing The Undertaker close out an NXT show in the Performance Center in 2023. That captured the spirit of the entire night, with the spirit of competition enhancing both shows.
Both NXT and AEW ran past 10pm, but Dynamite ran even longer. Taker went off the air at 10:08pm, which was right when Edge and Luchasaurus went into the home stretch of their main event. There was absolutely no doubt about the finish: Copeland was not dropping his AEW debut, and he overcame the odds to win with a spear. AEW used the aftermath to focus on its upcoming matches on Rampage and Collision, filling the ring with Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Swerve Strickland, Gates of Agony, and Hangman Page. The show went off the air with Danielson making Christian tap out to the Lebell Lock (as a frustrated Copeland watched), perhaps foreshadowing what will unfold on Collision.
Missing from the night’s festivities was Eric Bischoff, the one-time king of WCW and the “Monday Night Wars”. But this was an exceptional night of pro wrestling on both channels. WWE gave a star flavor and feel to NXT, and AEW stayed true to its roots by presenting a true alternative.
May we do it again next week?
