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AEW Dynamite vs. WWE NXT: Who Won the Jan.15 Battle of the Wednesday Night War?
Jan 16, 2020
It was a night of fantastic wrestling action, all contested in the shadow of news so big it overwhelmed the entire industry. The All Elite Wrestling revolution will continue to be televised—the new organization extended its deal through 2023 and added a new TV show on TNT to boot.
Business, as they say, just picked up.
If WWE thought it would deliver a knockout blow to its competition by putting NXT opposite the newcomers, it was a swing and a miss. This is a battle we now know will rage for years, not just weeks. And that's good news for all of us.
Every week we'll watch both shows, break them down, and declare a winner. After all, this is sports entertainment—it's not good enough to be, well, good. The goal is greatness. And each week there can be only one.
AEW Dynamite
Where:Miami, Florida
Main Event: Darby Allin vs. Pac
Match of the Night: Omega/Page vs. PNP vs. Young Bucks vs. Best Friends
Moment We'll Remember: Jon Moxley, his damaged eye covered to prevent further harm, ignores the advice of medical professionals to confront Pac in the ring. They'll meet next week to decide the No. 1 contender to Chris Jericho's championship.
—The show opened with four of the best tag teams in the world already in the ring, ready to compete for a shot at the tag team belts. They proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes wowing everyone with a pulse with spot after incredible spot.
Everyone had a chance to look like an absolute wrestling god—and to a man they delivered. Somehow, amid all this action, they continued to tell the story of poor Adam Page's descent and the tension within The Elite. This was just fun to watch. As good a television opener as you could possibly imagine to get the crowd's collective heart beating.
—Cody Rhodes remains the best promo in all of wrestling. We all knew he'd step up to MJF's challenge, no matter how unfair it is. That's what heroes do. And Cody is the last white hat left in a sport gone grey.
—Darby Allin was a relative unknown when he debuted with AEW, an indie favorite with tons of potential and a lot to prove. In a few short months he's become an institution, a wrestler fans know they can count on to sacrifice everything for their entertainment.
As usual, he fell short in the main event, in typical self-destructive fashion. But his fighting spirit and unique ring presence means it won't hurt him much. He's interesting because of how he puts himself out there: fear, if it exists, hidden behind the face paint and chutzpah.
Eventually success will have to follow if fans are going to fully invest their hearts in him. For now, though, his mere existence is enough.
Missed the Mark
—Jon Moxley is AEW's "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the tough-guy loner who's not safe to be around whether you're a babyface or a heel. But times have changed and the business that built Stone Cold doesn't exist anymore.
Austin rarely looked weak, except against overwhelming odds or the very best in the business. Moxley, by contrast, spent most of his match against Sammy Guevara getting his butt handed to him. Austin would have never given that much to an undercard opponent. Whether that change is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder. It worked for the match but may have harmed Moxley's aura in the process.
—The match between the Nightmare Collective and Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida was thrown a curveball when it was determined late that Awesome Kong wasn't medically able to compete. No doubt this meant the entire segment had to be rebuilt from the ground up. And while it didn't go perfectly, kudos to all involved for giving it their best effort.
—I understand that MJF isn't supposed to be the ultimate tough guy. He's the classic chickens--t heel who uses his mind more than his muscle to win matches. But there's a level beneath which he probably shouldn't slink if he's meant to be serious competition for the sport's top performers.
I'd humbly suggest that being physically dominated by Cody's older brother, a 63-year-old mentor and a personal assistant may be a bit too much. This match was surprisingly fun, but MJF has to remain formidable to work. This walked the line and may have teetered over.
Grade: A
WWE NXT
Where:Winter Park, Florida
Main Event: NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal
Match of the Night:Isaiah Scott vs. Lio Rush vs. Tyler Breeze (No. 1 Contender match)
Moment We'll Remember: Just as the DIY reunion appeared to be taking a turn towards the tragic, Keith Lee emerged to rescue the reunited pair. His pure physicality can be frightening.
What Worked
—Flash MorganWebster and Mark Andrews, days removed from a brutal ladder match at NXT Takeover UK, came up big in the long opening tag match.
Not, of course, big enough to win. But they looked good against two of NXT's best in Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle. I'm bullish on their future, though I was tempted to dock points for Riddle's new creeper mustache.
—There's nothing particularly dynamic about Tomasso Ciampa's interviews. He isn't a smooth talker or particularly dynamic on the stick.
What he does have is the kind of intensity you can't fake. It's either there or it's not. And, when he says Adam Cole's is the only name on his list, I believe him. And making someone believe is the greatest trick any wrestler can pull off.
—The cruiserweight bout was an incredible spectacle, unlike anything else on either show. No one else in all of professional wrestling moves like Lio Rush. He does things with his body that should be impossible, making what would be groan-inducing and hokey spots in any other hands look absolutely amazing.
But this was no one-man show. Swerve has serious upside as well and the returning Tyler Breeze did so many little things to hold the entire thing together. I loved this.
—Is it any wonder AEW has struggled out of the gates with its women's division? Most of the promising talent on the independent scene just a couple of years ago now plies its trade in NXT. And, as the main event Battle Royal showed, it's almost an embarrassment of riches.
Will this finally be Bianca Belair's time? My instinct says no, but she's also the kind of athlete who could believably beat anyone in the world. And that makes her a great choice to challenge Rhea Ripley in Portland.
Missed the Mark
—I hate to sound like the world's biggest mark, but it hurts my heart to see The Time Splitters lose. The match with The Grizzled Young Veterans was very good, but Kushida and Alex Shelley didn't find a way to get their hands raised.
Yes, I am that petty.
Grade: A
Overall: Last week, I promised a harsher curve, and I'll be true to my word. But these shows were both so much fun to watch that I couldn't, in good conscience, give them anything but sterling marks.
The difference was NXT's consistency. AEW reached the higher highs, but there are some things that just aren't working.
Right now, NXT is putting out a flawless show. When the margins are this slim, that's enough to decide who wins and who loses.
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Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley at WWE Worlds Collide, Marty Scurll-ROH Rumors, More
Jan 10, 2020
COLOGNE, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 07: Finn Balor during the WWE Live Show at Lanxess Arena on November 7, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Marc Pfitzenreuter/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Balor vs. Dragunov, Ripley vs. Storm Added to Worlds Collide
WWE announced two major matches for the Worlds Collide event in Houston on Royal Rumble weekend during Friday's edition of WWE Now.
After their interaction on Wednesday's NXT, Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm will meet at Worlds Collide with Ripley's NXT Women's Championship on the line. Also, Finn Balor will face Ilja Dragunov in a singles bout.
WWE previously announced that Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong of Undisputed Era will face Walter, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel and Alexander Wolfe of Imperium in an eight-man tag team match on the show as well.
Ripley and Storm have some history, as Ripley beat Storm in the finals of a tournament to become the first-ever NXT UK Women's champion. Storm later won the title from Ripley, but she then dropped it to Kay Lee Ray.
At NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II on Sunday, Storm will face Ray and Piper Niven in a Triple Threat match for the NXT UK Women's Championship, meaning it could be champion vs. champion at Worlds Collide.
The match between Balor and Dragunov has a chance to steal the show, especially after Dragunov and Cesaro faced off in a spectacular match at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August.
Balor is likely to win so he has momentum entering his match against Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Portland, but it should be a hard-hitting and entertaining affair nonetheless.
Some fans were apprehensive when it was announced that Worlds Collide would be held Royal Rumble weekend rather than a traditional TakeOver, but the card is shaping up to be a good one, and it could be an ideal lead-in for the Rumble.
Scurll Reportedly in Contract Talks with ROH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpU_VzomKkk
It has long been assumed that free-agent wrestler Marty Scurll would leave Ring of Honor for the perceived greener pastures of WWE or AEW, but that may not be the case.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Daniel Yanofsky), ROH is offering Scurll "WWE main roster money" and he would only have to work 40 dates per year if he takes the offer.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) added that Scurll is close to a deal with ROH, but it isn't yet set in stone.
Scurll reportedly isn't under contract currently, but he is continuing to work with ROH and recently debuted for NWA as well.
Since joining ROH in 2016, The Villain has developed into one of the company's top stars. Although he has yet to win the ROH World Championship, he has held both the Television and Six-Man Tag Team titles.
Scurll also formed the Villain Enterprises stable with PCO, Brody King and eventually Flip Gordon, which speaks to how much faith ROH has put in the Englishman.
ROH has fallen well behind AEW when it comes to being the No. 2 North American wrestling company, and since Scurll was once part of The Elite with Cody, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Adam "Hangman" Page, it seemed likely that he would eventually make the leap to AEW.
WWE has also signed much of the top independent wrestling talent and allowed it to thrive in NXT as well, which could have made that a viable option for Scurll.
While the spotlight may not be on him as much if he remains in ROH, accepting such an enticing contract would certainly be understandable.
Moxley vs. Guevara Added to AEW Dynamite
AEW added a big match to Wednesday's AEW Dynamite: Bash at the Beach show in Miami, Florida, on Friday in the form of Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara:
After Moxley said he would join the Inner Circle to close this week's Dynamite, he turned the tables on AEW World champion Chris Jericho by attacking him instead. Guevara tried to make the save, but he was laid out with a Paradigm Shift DDT as well.
It seems as though a Jericho vs. Moxley clash for the title is inevitable, so Moxley may be forced to run the Inner Circle gauntlet in the coming weeks and months.
Guevara is on a roll with wins over Dustin Rhodes and Christopher Daniels the past couple of weeks, but beating Moxley would be his biggest win by far.
Other matches scheduled to take place on Dynamite are Pac vs. Darby Allin, MJF, The Butcher and The Blade vs. DDP, Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall, and Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida vs. Awesome Kong and Mel of the Nightmare Collective.
Most of the focus will be on Moxley, though, and what step he takes next in his attempt to knock Jericho from his perch.
Listen toRing Rust Radiofor all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below(warning: some languageNSFW).
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AEW Dynamite vs. WWE NXT: Who Won the Jan.8 Battle of the Wednesday Night War?
Jan 9, 2020
Last week, All Elite Wrestling propelled the sport into 2020 with a great show in Jacksonville, Florida. Unfortunately, for our purposes at least, NXT only managed a clip show, making this the first official front in the Wednesday Night Wars this year.
For those new to the column, every week the top two wrestling promotions in North America square up on Wednesday nights in a head-to-head battle of brands and vision. Nothing short of the future of wrestling as an art form is at stake.
That's why, every week, we'll be here taking a deeper look at both promotions, declaring what worked, what missed the mark and picking a winner. Last year, caught up in the excitement of this new breed of wrestling show, we tossed out A's like it was a millennial high school class. This year, that grade inflation is over. An average show is a C, a good show is a B and only a great show rates an A.
If you have some thoughts of your own, we'd love to hear them on the app. (Editor's note: Bleacher Report's corporate partners at Turner Media broadcast AEW Dynamite on TNT).
AEW Dynamite
Where:South Haven, Mississippi
Main Event: Jurassic Express vs. Best Friends
Match of the Night: Kenny Omega/Adam Page vs. Private Party
Moment We'll Remember: Jon Moxley, after proclaiming himself the latest member of The Inner Circle, winks to the camera while continuing to lead Chris Jericho on. When he eventually whacked Jericho with a suspiciously disappearing bottle, he cemented himself as a man of the people and the next big thing in professional wrestling.
—KennyOmega and Adam Page are two of the best wrestlers not just in AEW, but also on the world scene. Both possess the rare combination of speed, strength and ferocity, honed to perfection in promotions all over the planet. They are quickly becoming one of my favorite teams, though Page's storyline struggles with alcohol and his confidence may make this team little more than a fleeting flight of fancy.
—Even at 50, Dustin Rhodes remains one of the best professional wrestlers on the roster. His mind for the business has been sharpened to a razor's edge after decades in the sport. He's always in the right place at the right time, bringing order to chaos.
That's something the amazing Lucha Bros. often need—left to their own devices they often tend to fly a little too close to the sun. Here, Dustin helped corral them and then Cody made an incredible hot tag. A good sprint and the kind of television match AEW promised and delivers almost every week.
—As 1990s stalwart "Diamond" Dallas Page cut what seemed like an endless, meandering promo in the center of the ring, MJF was all of us. The sport's best young heel, bad look permanently etched on his face, leaned on the ropes and pulled out his phone. It was, perhaps, an early candidate for tweet of the year—delivered live on national television.
—The crowd loves Orange Cassidy. Now the challenge is figuring out a way to help him walk the fine line between novelty act and potential superstar. This is a complicated process. AEW should be devoting the mental power devoted to some of their struggling acts to this conundrum. They almost have something special here. I'm excited to see what they can do with it.
Missed the Mark
—Kris Statlander and Riho were well on their way to the best match in the short history of the AEW women's division. Statlander, less than three years into her wrestling career, is a prodigious talent. This is the kind of match that might have become part of her legend.
Likewise, Riho could have continued to win over American fans with her brave performance against a larger, more formidable opponent.
Instead, the match was lost in a fugue of storyline nonsense. The Nightmare Collective interfered with the match over and over again, first with Brandi Rhodes' distracting performance on commentary, followed by interference from Awesome Kong, Mel and a debuting Dr. Luther.
I have no problem with the brewing feud between Statlander and Rhodes, but I'd prefer the angles either be in service to the match itself or be limited to the finish. Destroying a budding classic doesn't help anyone. Statlander and Riho deserved better.
—It's not especially clear how AEW decides which talents to highlight and which to leave on the back burner. For example, the company seems keen on Kip Sabian, a video game create-a-wrestler in human form. While he hasn't shown me anything special in the ring, despite getting a lot of time to work with both Page and Omega, Penelope Ford might end up being his saving grace.
Whatever "it" is, she has a double dose. That might be enough to help Sabian find his footing.
—The commentary team got off to a rough start, struggling to integrate former Memphis announcer Dave Brown into the opening match. They never quite found their footing, squabbling and botching things throughout. Brandi joining the team to run everyone down certainly didn't help, especially considering the rough night.
I'm normally a big supporter of this team. But this wasn't their night.
—AEW is coming dangerously close to letting personal relationships dictate the direction of its television. Considering the amazing talent that is left off the card every week, it seems a bit self-indulgent to push Dallas Page, QT Marshall and even SCU beyond what the audience response seems to dictate.
Grade: C
WWE NXT
Where:Winter Park, Florida
Main Event: Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest (No. 1 Contender match)
Match of the Night: Main event
Moment We'll Remember:I smiled as six amazing women filled the ring to open the program. The long-time champion, Shayna Baszler, is taking a step backward for the moment. But the NXT women's division is as alive as ever.
What Worked
—The NXT women's division remains the best on the American scene. And don't get me wrong: This isn't just the best women's division, it's the best division, period.
The six top performers in the company (Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray) were quickly placed onto two teams and proceeded to deliver a heck of a match, equal parts storytelling and stellar wrestling.
Here, the match was in service of the story, not trying desperately to occupy the same space and making a complete mess of it. They worked hand-in-hand to create drama in the future and deliver something in the now to entertain fans.
This is what wrestling is supposed to feel like. If that sounds like a shot at the competition up the dial at TNT, that's because it is.
—I hope you love something, anything, as much as Tomasso Ciampi loves the NXT Championship and the promotion it represents. His interview segment was powerful and concise.
He believes Adam Cole has walked in and stolen a life that is supposed to be his. He wants it back. And I'm here for every second of this.
—If anyone can match Ciampa's pure passion for NXT, it's his former tag team partner, Johnny Gargano. Here, he delivered a shot across Finn Balor's bow, an old-school "shoot interview" where he mixed real life and storyline critiques expertly.
"I got that same phone call in August, Finn," Gargano said of the offer to join WWE's main roster. "The big difference between me and you? I stayed here. Because when I say I love this place, I actually mean it."
—After last week's, um, strong performance against Roderick Strong, Austin Theory was back in a short squash match. He has serious potential and natural heel energy. Here's hoping they don't miscast him as a babyface, because he could become a presence very quickly.
—Alex Shelley will join Kushida in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which is big news for fans of Japanese wrestling. The tournament kicked off with two solid matches and looks to continue its momentum next week with an appearance by both the Time Splitters and the hilarious BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne).
It's nice to see WWE continue to pay tribute to The American Dream, even as his sons compete head-to-head on the other channel. Dusty meant a lot to this industry and it's important to acknowledge where we came from even as we stare at the future of wrestling.
—The main event managed the tricky feat of making all four competitors look strong while also clearly establishing Lee as the top contender for the North American title.
Lee is a future champion in NXT and his rise has been fun to watch. It's easy to fall into critique mode when watching wrestling—with Lee, it's even easier to simply bask in his glory.
Missed the Mark
—Nothing on this show was actively bad. It wasn't always spectacular, but it delivered a solid night of wrestling and kept it moving for two hours. That's about all you can ask of your popcorn entertainment.
Grade: B
Overall: Both shows had their moments. But NXT never made me groan and AEW did—several times. Dynamite was an uneven show, while NXT delivered from opening to close. In the first head-to-head week of 2020, WWE takes an early lead as the war enters its second year.
Will he or won't he? It was the question hanging over Jon Moxley's head like a dark cloud Wednesday night as All Elite Wrestling invaded the legendary wrestling town of Memphis, Tennessee, for its latest episode of Dynamite...
