Wednesday Night Wars: AEW vs NXT Week 2

To kick off the Wednesday Night Wars, AEW Dynamite doubled the viewership of WWE NXT. In the rating wars, the score is 1-0 in favor of AEW. However, the beauty of pro-wrestling in the of the beholder. While the ratings cannot be argued with who tuned into what show, I firmly believe that the better show on the first week was WWE NXT. What I do know is that week two will be electric for the flagship product of both brands in the Wednesday Night Wars.

Coming off the heels of a highly discussed, much left to be desired finish at Hell In A Cell, the WWE was going to have to work twice as hard to pull viewers away from AEW Dynamite this week. Many people took to social media, such as Twitter, to say that they would be canceling their WWE Network subscription because of how disappointing the finish was for The Fiend versus "The Beastslayer" Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship. Even WWE Hall of Famers adversely reacted to the main event of Hell In A Cell.

A simple tweet would be sent out by The Young Bucks reminding that AEW Dynamite would be live on Wednesday night following WWE's pay per view flop of Hell In A Cell. A small tongue in cheek tweet from a rival company was just enough to get some extra eyes on the product that won the inaugural week's rating war. A common consensus was that AEW Dynamite had the ratings it did last week because it was the debut of a new show versus the WWE's already established NXT product. While there is some truth to that, WWE had to answer big across all of their programming, not just NXT, to keep their viewers glued to their product. Here is the breakdown of AEW Dynamite versus WWE NXT for week two of the Wednesday Night Wars:

WWE NXT; Full Sail University

"The Man of the Hour" Lio Rush vs "The Philadelphia Stretcher" Drew Gulak (c)

This match is for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, currently held by Drew Gulak. When on a previous show, WWE 205 Live, Gulak was the last WWE Cruiserweight champion before that roster merged onto NXT. Now the first NXT Cruiserweight champion, he defends his championship at the beginning of this show against the number one contender for his championship, Lio Rush.

Lio Rush goes for a Springboard Stunner but is caught out of mid-air by Drew Gulak who goes for the win. "The Philadelphia Stretcher" locks Rush in the Gu-Lock, but Rush finds a way to reverse out of the hold into a Dragon Sleeper. "The Man of the Hour" blocks a Superplex attempt from Gulak and then hits The Final Hour from the top rope for the win.

Winner and NEW NXT Cruiserweight Champion: "The Man of the Hour" Lio Rush

Rhea Ripley vs Aliyah

This match served more of a purpose to make Rhea Ripley the dangerous threat to Shayna Baszler's NXT Women's Championship. Ripley dominated every part of this quick match against Aliyah in a statement match, tapping Aliyah out in the Gorilla Clutch Bomb. This is a move that I was unfamiliar with and it is a brutal finisher.

After the match, Rhea Ripley put the "Submission Magician" Shayna Baszler on notice.

Winner: Rhea Ripley

Breezango vs The Forgotten Sons

Breezango made their entrance to the ring, originally prepared to face Ever-Rise. Instead of Ever-Rise making their entrance for their match, the muscle of The Forgotten Sons, Jaxson Ryker, carried Ever-Rise to the top of the entrance ramp. With Breezango's original opponents out cold, Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler represented The Forgotten Sons to face Breezango.

Breezango had offense going in their favor, but Jaxson Ryker got involved, pulling Tyler Breeze out of the ring and throwing him into the steel steps. With Breeze down on the outside of the ring, The Forgotten Sons hit Fandango with The Memory Remains, and Steve Cutler got the pin.

Winners: The Forgotten Sons

Boa vs Cameron Grimes

As soon as the bell sounded, Cameron Grimes hit The Cave In for the pin. This match was over in a flash.

Winner: Cameron Grimes

As quick as the bell rang to signal the end of the match, Cameron Grimes hightailed it out of the ring as Killian Dain ran into the ring. Dain intended on getting to the ring to challenge Grimes but attacked Boa with two Vader Bombs and a slam onto the announcer table. Before Dain retreated, he stated, "this is just the beginning."

"The Messiah of the Backbreaker" Roderick Strong vs Isiah "Swerve" Scott

This match was not for the NXT North American Championship, but it was a highly competitive matchup between Isiah Scott and Roderick Strong. There was a very cool move from "Swerve" when he had Strong hanging by his feet on the outside of the ring on the bottom rope. Scott jumped from the inside of the ring to the outside of the ring, hitting a Diving Double Foot Stomp. There was an opportunity for Scott to put away Strong, which would have been an upset victory, but he was distracted by the appearance of The Undisputed Era at the top of the entrance ramp.

"The Messiah of the Backbreaker" capitalized on Isiah Scott's hesitation, striking with a Busaiku Knee, a Sick Kick, The End of Heartache, and finishing with the Strong Hold. All of these moves happened in rapid-fire succession from Strong on Scott, to which Scott would tap out.

Winner: "The Messiah of the Backbreaker" Roderick Strong

The Velveteen Dream interrupts The Undisputed Era in the ring and calls out Strong. A photo of Strong, wearing only the NXT North American Championship around his waist and laying on a purple couch, appears on the NXT screen. Velveteen Dream says that he will "strip" Strong of his NXT North American Championship and show exactly why he "just doesn't measure up." The NXT North American Championship is removed off of Strong on the displayed image, showing a blur over his genitals. This is shocking to the live NXT audience as The Velveteen Dream is meant to be an ambiguous, risque character projecting on Strong.

After The Velveteen Dream plays mind games with Strong, "The Blackheart" Tommaso Ciampa makes an entrance, wielding a single crutch by his side to the ring. Ciampa then picks up a chair from the audience as he enters the ring. The Undisputed Era leaves the ring and Ciampa takes the microphone and sits in the ring with the crutch in hand. Referring to Adam Cole's title, Ciampa simply says "Goldie, daddy's home."

"The Captain of Team Kick" Dakota Kai vs "The EST of NXT" Bianca Belair

After a few near falls in the match, "The EST of NXT" gets the best of Dakota Kai. Belair ends up sidestepping a Pump Kick from "The Captain of Team Kick." Belair hits the KOD for the pin and picks up the win.

After the match, Bianca Belair addresses Rhea Ripley's comments from earlier in the evening. Belair says that if Ripley wants to get to Shayna Baszler, she has to "go through me, the EST."

Winner: "The EST of NXT" Bianca Belair

Main Event: Kushida vs "The Ring General" Walter

This match is not for the NXT United Kingdom Championship. "The Ring General" showed good agility leapfrogging Kushida. On the flip side of that, Kushida showed surprising power, throwing Walter with a Hip Toss. Bonus points to the booking of Kushida against Walter in the main event. Walter is meant to be built like a monster, so Kushida is a very credible opponent who has a legitimate MMA background.

At a point in the match, it looked like Walter tapped out to the Hoverboard Lock, but he was throwing a Palm Strike to the back of Kushida. Kushida kept a hold of the submission hold, but Walter forced the rope break. Walter connects with a Powerbomb on Kushida that followed a devastating Shotgun Dropkick. The size comparison between the two when Walter hits the Shotgun Dropkick on Kushida makes the impact look so much greater. After the kick out on the Powerbomb, Walter lifts Kushida back to his feet and hits another Palm Strike before dishing a Ripchord Lariat for the pin.

This match received the best reaction for the NXT audience. The rest of Imperium showed up at the top of the entrance ramp to join Walter after he defeated Kushida as NXT went off the air.

Winner: "The Ring General" Walter

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AEW Dynamite; Boston, MA

The Young Bucks (3-2) vs Private Party (1-2)

This is the first match in the tournament to crown the first-ever AEW Tag Team champions. A couple of other teams were in the front row to get a good view of the competition in the tournament, such as Angelico and Jack Evans and SoCal Uncensored.

The crowd was hot throughout the entire match. The Young Bucks personally went to House of Glory Wrestling before AEW Double or Nothing to provide Private Party with AEW contracts. Both teams hit their variations of tag team signature moves, including Private Party's Hurricanrana Cutter combination. The Young Bucks were ready to move in on the win with The Meltzer Driver, but Nick Jackson was pulled down from the ring apron by Isiah Kassidy. This allowed Marq Quen to execute a Victory Roll pin on Matt Jackson for the win.

Winners: Private Party (2-2)

Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz come down to the ring to address the AEW crowd in Boston, Massachusetts. Jericho rocks the microphone during this segment, introducing his stable "The Inner Circle." The best moment by far during this segment is when Jericho introduces Hager to the crowd, who responds with the "We The People" chants. Hager, formerly known as Jack Swagger in the WWE, was tied to that catchphrase of "We The People." Jericho made that a dead piece of history saying "We The People sucks and it's dead and buried. It was a stupid idea from bad creative and all of that's gone."

Jimmy Havoc (1-2) vs "Daredevil" Darby Allin (1-2-1)

The winner of this match would earn an AEW World Championship match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania against the reigning champion, Chris Jericho. This match showed the mean streak in both wrestlers, which is exactly what will be required to test their metal against the current AEW World champion.

Jimmy Havoc hit a Falcon Arrow on the "Daredevil" from the inside of the ring to the outside floor. Darby Allin would get the win after a brutal matchup, hitting the Coffin Drop from the top rope.

Winner: "Daredevil" Darby Allin (2-2-1)

Bea Priestley (1-1) and Sakura (0-1) vs Dr. Britt Baker DMD (2-1) and Riho (4-1)

Fun fact before diving into this match: Dr. Britt Baker DMD is a legitimate Doctor of Dental Medicine.

The focal point of this match goes back to Bea Priestley eliminating Dr. Britt Baker DMD from the Battle Royale to determine who would be in the match to crown the first-ever AEW Women's champion. Baker's tag partner, Riho, is the current AEW Women's champion. Priestley was already eliminated from the Battle Royale when she played a role in Baker's elimination, which leads us to this tag team match on AEW Dynamite.

Dr. Britt Baker DMD would eventually make Sakura tap out to the Rings of Saturn to get the win for her team. After the match, Baker and Bea Priestley would scrap until the referee broke it up and removed Priestley from the ring.

Winners: Dr. Britt Baker DMD (3-1) and Riho (5-1)

The Best Friends are asked how they feel going into their match against SCU in the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament. Chuck Taylor allows Orange Cassidy to answer for them with a simple thumbs-up. Taylor, Cassidy, and Trent Baretta may be one of my favorite groups in all of AEW.

"The Self Proclaimed Chairman of AEW" Shawn Spears (1-1) vs Jon Moxley (0-0)

During this match, "The Bastard" Pac was on guest commentary. Shawn Spears had Jon Moxley on the outside of the ring and delivered a Death Valley Driver into the steel guardrails. This match was mostly a hard striking affair. Credit to AEW, who is doing what WWE couldn't with Spears, making him a star. Spears is doing great work in AEW alongside Tully Blanchard, which surpasses a good gimmick he had in WWE, formerly known as "The Perfect Ten" Tye Dillinger.

Jon Moxley removes his knee pad and delivers a Running Knee across the head of Shawn Spears. Moxley then hit the Paradigm Shift on Spears for the pin.

Winner: Jon Moxley (1-0)

After the match, Jon Moxley leaves the ring and Kenny Omega appears at the top of the entrance ramp with a barbed wire broom and barbed wire bat in hand. Omega throws the barbed wire bat to Moxley, daring him to pick up the weapon. Pac runs up behind Omega and strikes with a steel chair, ending the standoff with Moxley. With Omega down on the entrance ramp, Moxley steps to Pac, who then leaves up the entrance ramp. With just Omega down on the ground, Moxley had the opportunity to punish him with one of the weapons, but chose not to and walked up the entrance ramp.

Main Event: "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes (0-2) and "Hangman" Adam Page (2-2) vs "The Best Ever" Sammy Guevara (1-2) and Chris Jericho (3-0)

Dustin Rhodes started the match with Sammy Guevara as the legal man but decided to chase Chris Jericho to the outside of the ring and engage in what was practically a hockey fight. Rhodes got back into the ring and tagged into Adam Page, who hit a Running Shooting Star Press on Guevara for a two count.

Sammy Guevara tagged out to Chris Jericho, who missed a rope hung Leg Clothesline on Adam Page. Jericho made the quick tag to Guevara, who cut off Page's tag attempt to "The Natural." Guevara makes another tag back to Jericho who went for a Lionsault, but Page got the knees up to block. Jericho makes another tag back to Guevara, who once again cut off the tag from Page to Dustin Rhodes.

Adam Page is finally able to hit a Discus Lariat on Sammy Guevara, which gives him enough time to make the tag to Dustin Rhodes. Guevara rolls to the outside of the ring and the "Hangman" follows with a Moonsault from the top rope. He connects, but Jake Hager then runs by and hits a Clothesline. On the inside of the ring, Rhodes sets up Chris Jericho for the Shattered Dream. Hager enters the ring as "The Best Ever" distracts the referee and hits a Clothesline on Rhodes. Jericho would follow up with The Judas Effect and collect the pin.

Winners: "The Best Ever" Sammy Guevara (2-2) and Chris Jericho (4-0)

After the match, The Inner Circle continues to beat down Dustin Rhodes. Adam Page comes back into the ring and throws punches at The Inner Circle, but Jake Hager gives a Clothesline that puts Page back to the outside of the ring. Hager follows to the outside and gets a steel chair thrown at his head by Page.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara continue to attack "The Natural" until the lights go out. The lights come back on at "The American Nightmare" Cody is standing behind Guevara. Cody nails Cross Rhodes on Guevara then is back on his feet as Jericho is turned around. Ortiz and Santana then hit the ring and attack Cody from behind along with Rhodes.

Maxwell Jacob-Friedman storms down to the ring with a steel chair in hand. Ortiz and Santana standoff with MJF, ceasing their attack on Dustin Rhodes. Chris Jericho lifts Cody and tells MJF to hit Cody with the chair. As it looks like MJF will hit Cody with the chair, he then swings and connects a few chair shots on Santana, Ortiz, and Jericho. MJF panders to the crowd for too long afterward and eats a Codebreaker from Jericho.

The Young Bucks run in and it's a Superkick Party on Ortiz, Santana, and Sammy Guevara. Chris Jericho bails out of the ring when the Young Bucks begin to unload on who is left in the ring from The Inner Circle.

Darby Allin then comes riding down the entrance ramp on his skateboard and tackles Chris Jericho. These two will face off next week on AEW Dynamite from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Allin hits Jericho with his skateboard twice. In the ring, standing tall, is Cody, Allin, The Young Bucks, MJF, and Dustin Rhodes. Jericho takes the microphone before AEW Dynamite goes off the air and declares that next week in Philadelphia, it will be Allin's "funeral."

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Verdict

Again this week, AEW Dynamite won the rating war, improving to 2-0 in the Wednesday Night Wars where it counts. The viewer totals dropped off for both shows. AEW Dynamite received 1,018,000 million viewers on TNT in week two while WWE NXT on the USA Network drew 790,000 viewers.

When it comes to who I think won the Wednesday Night War in week two, I have to say that I enjoyed the AEW Dynamite product more this week. Yes, WWE NXT did have great moments, such as the NXT Cruiserweight Championship match with Lio Rush becoming the new NXT Cruiserweight champion, Roderick Strong's victory against Isiah Scott, and the main event featuring Walter versus Kushida. Ultimately, I felt the full card for AEW Dynamite served a higher purpose and was more competitive this week that the WWE NXT lineup. If the purpose of a match is to just further a rivalry storyline, I still like seeing some depth to that match as compared to a short, quick squash match.

Part of what I liked more with AEW Dynamite was the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament first-round match between The Young Bucks and Private Party. The surprise win was great to see because my prediction would have been The Young Bucks getting at least the first-round victory. The idea of Darby Allin facing Chris Jericho in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the AEW World Championship already challenges WWE NXT next Wednesday. I was looking forward to the Shawn Spears versus Jon Moxley match all week because my favorite wrestler in AEW is none other than Moxley.

On WWE NXT, Kushida versus Walter is a match that I think would grab the attention of a casual viewer. It was a David versus Goliath kind of battle that was on the verge of going either way at different times. For AEW Dynamite, Private Party versus The Young Bucks was worth the watch. However, the big bite that everyone will be able to sink their teeth into is the promo of Chris Jericho introducing his stable, The Inner Circle, and the way he deflected the "We The People" chants from Jake Hager.

I'll be back for week three of the Wednesday Night Wars. What a time to be a pro-wrestling fan!