Wednesday Night Wars: AEW vs NXT Week 3

In the second week of the AEW and WWE NXT Wednesday Night Wars, AEW Dynamite controlled the ratings again. Unlike the first installment, I agreed that Dynamite was the better show than WWE NXT. It was unanimous. Both shows put out a strong product in week two, which is ultimately best for the wrestling business. This week, AEW Dynamite comes to the City of Brotherly Love. It's a pleasure to cover this show being a part of a Philadelphia sports media outlet.

The WWE held their draft as the big switch to put Smackdown on FOX was implemented a couple of weeks ago. With a shift of the playing field to shake up WWE television, more eyes were going to their product as they would be featured on a bigger network. However, the additions of Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury wrestling at an upcoming WWE Network special entitled "Crown Jewel," may turn away the diehard wrestling fan. Wrestling fans aren't as excited to feature another MMA fighter or boxer into the wrestling fold.

That all being said, here is the way that AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT unfolded through week three of the Wednesday Night Wars:

AEW Dynamite; Philadelphia, PA

As AEW Dynamite kicked off, SoCal Uncensored made their way to the ring to kick off the show to further the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament. Recently, Scorpio Sky stated that he wanted Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian to represent SCU in the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament. Before the entrance could even be made, the Lucha Bros attacked Daniels and Kazarian from behind. A Package Piledriver on the entrance ramp ensured that Daniels wouldn't be able to compete. This forced Sky to make the save on Kazarian and the Lucha Bros retreated up the entrance ramp.

It was at this time that Scorpio Sky had to make the executive decision to either forfeit the opportunity in the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament or insert himself alongside Frankie Kazarian to take the injured Christopher Daniels place. Not giving up their position, Sky entered the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament with Kazarian. SoCal Uncensored is back in action.

1) SoCal Uncensored (0-0) vs Best Friends (2-2)

Philadelphia's own, Chuck Taylor teamed up with his tag team partner, Trent Baretta in scheduled action to face SoCal Uncensored. A few neat double team moves from Best Friends included Taylor lifting Baretta on his shoulders to meet Kazarian on the top rope for an assisted Superplex. Kazarian would kick out of the pin. The big momentum shift was when Taylor went for a Front Flip over the top rope to the outside of the ring on Scorpio Sky but hit Baretta instead. Back to the inside of the ring, Sky gets deposited back to the outside and the Best Friends hug it out to get back on the same page.

Frankie Kazarian hits Trent Baretta with a Back Body Drop on the apron of the ring. This allows a double team Powerbomb/Dropkick finish from SoCal Uncensored on Baretta for the win. They'll advance to the next round of the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament.

Winners: SoCal Uncensored (1-0)

2) John Silver and Alex Reynolds (0-0) vs Santana and Ortiz (1-0)

This match served as a showcase for Santana and Ortiz. Alex Reynolds was disposed to the outside to not come back in the ring. Inside the ring, Ortiz and Santana hit the Street Sweeper on John Silver to get the pin victory.

Winners: Santana and Ortiz (2-0)

After the match, Santana and Ortiz were accompanied by Chris Jericho at the top of the entrance ramp, issuing a challenge to The Young Bucks at AEW Full Gear.

3) Dr. Britt Baker DMD (3-1 vs Riho (5-1) (c)

This match is for the AEW Women's Championship. There were a few sloppy moments in the early stages of the match, but Dr. Britt Baker DMD was able to use her power and size against Riho to stabilize the action. During the match, Riho goes to the top rope and connects with a Double Foot Stomp to the back of Baker. Riho seems to have Baker when she wants her and connects with a Running Double Knee Strike. Again, Riho goes for the Running Double Knee Strike, but Baker evades and hits a snug Ripchord Discus Forearm.

It looks like we are on the cusp of crowning a new AEW Women's champion as Dr. Britt Baker DMD almost secures the Lockjaw on Riho. Riho uses her experience and reverses the submission into a pinning predicament for the win.

Winner AND STILL AEW Women's Champion: Riho (6-1)

4) The Jurassic Express (0-0) vs The Lucha Bros (2-1)

This is the second match on the AEW Dynamite card to advance the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament. Luchasaurus is out with a leg injury, so taking his place alongside Jungle Boy is Marko Stunt. Early on in the match, Stunt seems to be reversing any offense from The Lucha Bros in a very stunning fashion. Stunt is one of the smallest wrestlers on the entire roster, but he puts on a heck of a performance. Eventually, Pentagon Jr delivers a Pumphandle Driver to Stunt and pins. Stunt would kick out of the pin.

The Jurassic Express almost get the upset win on The Lucha Bros when Marko Stunt hit a 450 Splash from the top rope on Rey Fenix Jr, followed by a Standing Shooting Star Press from Jungle Boy. The Lucha Bros do get the victory when Pentagon Jr pins Stunt after a Package Piledriver/Double Foot Stomp double team.

Winners: The Lucha Bros (3-1)

5) Pac (2-0) and Jon Moxley (1-0) vs Adam Page (2-3) and Kenny Omega (2-3)

This match refers to the idea of two singles wrestlers teaming up against a common enemy. Pac and Adam Page have been feuding with each other for about as long as Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega have in AEW. Fun fact: the referee in this match is a Temple University alumni. Eventually, Omega and Moxley are facing off with the same barbed wire weapons from last week's AEW Dynamite. Omega has the barbed wire broom and Moxley has the barbed wire baseball bat.

Jon Moxley does hit Kenny Omega with the butt of the barbed wire baseball bat, avoiding contact with the barbed wire. Omega bends over and Moxley teases a strike across the back with the barbed wire portion of the baseball bat, but Pac removes the weapon from Moxley in an attempt to save his team from being disqualified. Strangely, this moment happens, considering that Moxley already hit Omega with the baseball bat once and wasn't disqualified. Irritated with his tag team partner, Moxley turns on Pac, leaving him laid out via Paradigm Shift in the middle of the ring. Omega regroups and connects with a V-Trigger on Pac, followed by the Dead Eye from Adam Page for the pin.

Winners: Adam Page (3-3) and Kenny Omega (3-3)

6) Main Event: Darby Allin (2-2-1) vs Chris Jericho (4-0) (c)

This match is for the AEW World Championship and is a Philadelphia Street Fight. To have an idea of who has the experience edge, Chris Jericho has been wrestling for seven years more than Darby Allin has been alive. Allin began the match at a quick pace, hitting a Suicide Dive on Jericho. The two would trade shots with a kendo stick back inside the ring, shedding some blood in the match. Jericho upgrades to a steel chair and hits Allin with it.

Chris Jericho tapes Darby Allin's hands together behind his back, acting as handcuffs. All with his hands taped behind his back, Allin connects with another Suicide Dive on Jericho. Another good spot in this match was when Jericho connected a Powerbomb on top of Allin's skateboard. The finish looks like Allin may be able to connect with a Coffin Drop while his arms are taped behind his back, but Jake Hager ran in and hit Allin with a strong right hand. Jericho uses the Walls of Jericho to retain the AEW World Championship as Allin is unable to defend himself.

Winner AND STILL AEW World Champion: Chris Jericho (5-0)

The Inner Circle celebrates with "a little bit of the bubbly" as AEW Dynamite goes off the air.

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WWE NXT; Full Sail University

1) Tommaso Ciampa vs Angel Garza

This is Tommaso Ciampa's welcome back match to WWE NXT after coming back from injury. One of my favorite wrestlers in all of WWE NXT is Ciampa, as I followed his work when he wrestled in Philadelphia under Ring of Honor. This match derives from last week when Angel Garza was smack talking Ciampa in Spanish. Ciampa knocked out Garza and then said: "he had no idea" when asked what Garza may have said to him. Early in the match, Garza got some offense in on Ciampa but spent too much time pandering to the WWE NXT audience. Tommaso Ciampa took over on offense, connecting with the Willow's Bell for the pin.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa

After the match, the Undisputed Era made an entrance to the ring so Kyle O'Reilly could drop off a USB drive to the announcers' table. Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong surrounded the ring as Tommaso Ciampa remained seated in his steel chair, gripping his crutch by his side. The Undisputed Era retreat up the entrance ramp, continuing to talk trash to Ciampa. The USB drive contained a video of the Velveteen Dream being laid out backstage by the Undisputed Era after his shots fired towards Strong last week.

2) Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan vs Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel)

Much of this match was dominated upfront by Imperium. Oney Loran fought mostly for his team in the inside of the ring while Danny Burch was separated from the outside of the ring. Fabian Aichner flies around the ring with grace, connecting with a Double Springboard Moonsault. Lorcan would kick out of the pin. The finish sees Imperium connect with a double team Diving European Uppercut/Powerbomb double team on Lorcan for the pin.

Winners: Imperium

3) Io Shirai vs Kayden Carter

This was a match meant to showcase Io Shirai, who hit a devastating Release German Suplex on Kayden Carter before connecting with a Moonsault from the top rope for the pinfall.

Winner: Io Shirai

Io Shirai calls out Rhea Ripley afterward who shows up without hesitation. Ripley warns Shirai to keep her name out of her mouth. Some unhinged, crazy screaming in Japanese continues at Ripley from Shirai as she exits the ring.

Commissioner William Regal is backstage with Roderick Strong. He informs that while Velveteen Dream is unable to compete for the NXT North American Championship next week, the winner of Keith Lee versus Dominik Dijakovic will become the number one contender.

4) Keith Lee vs Dominik Dijakovic

This match is to determine the number one contender for the NXT North American Championship. Just to note, this is now the fourth meeting between these two on NXT TV and each time, it is a treat to watch. Keith Lee shows off his amazing athleticism, hitting a Poisonrana on Dominik Dijakovic. Before the match comes to an abrupt end, Dijakovic has Lee in a precarious position on the top rope. Roderick Strong runs in and hits Lee across the head with the NXT North American Championship.

Winner by Disqualification: Keith Lee

After the match, Commissioner William Regal informs Roderick Strong that due to his interference to stop the outcome of the match, Strong will defend his NXT North American Championship against both Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic in a triple threat match next week on WWE NXT.

5) Matt Riddle vs Bronson Reed

Jump starting the match, Matt Riddle hits two Flash Knees on Bronson Reed early, but Reed doesn't go down. Riddle impresses with his strength in this match, delivering a Powerbomb to Reed. On the offensive, Riddle goes for a Broton Bomb, but Reed gets the knees up. Reed hits a Senton Bomb of his own. The heavy artillery is unleashed as Riddle connects with the Bro To Sleep and the Bro Derek for the win. A show of respect with a handshake after the match as the both did before the match.

Winner: Matt Riddle

6) Taynara vs Tegan Nox

This is Tegan Nox's return match to NXT from her knee injury. Nox controls the majority of the match, finishing Taynara off in a rapid-fire sequence of a Chokeslam, a Senton Bomb in the corner, a Diving Crossbody from the top rope, and pinning after The Shiniest Wizard.

Winner: Tegan Nox

Tegan Nox's teammate, Dakota Kai comes ringside to celebrate with her. That celebration is cut off quickly by the appearance of Shayna Baszler and the MMA Horsewomen. Baszler tells Nox she "hasn't earned a title shot," "come back when she's done something worth talking about," and she's "running out of limbs to rehab." It's hard to argue with Baszler's short promo on Nox.

7) Boa vs Killian Dain

This match is building off of last week when Boa was pinned immediately by Cameron Grimes. Killian Dain entered the ring after that match last week and beat down Boa. In this match, Boa took on the early offense with quick strikes, but Dain assumed control using his power. Dain punishes Boa with three Vader Bombs before tapping Boa in the Cu Chulainn's Wrath submission.

Winner: Killian Dain

Killian Dain made his way back up the entrance ramp as Pete Dunne was making his entrance to the ring for the main event match of WWE NXT. Dain and Dunne get face to face at the entrance ramp when Dunne does the Finger Wishbone to Dain as he walks down to the ring. It was pretty awesome to see coming from Dunne before his match with Damian Priest.

8) Main Event: Pete Dunne vs Damian Priest

Pete Dunne begins the match, targeting the left arm of Damian Priest with his signature Arm Stomps. On commentary, Mauro Raunallo has a great line stating, "it's hard to shoot a bow and arrow with broken fingers" about the "Archer of Infamy." Dunne seems like he is cruising on Priest with a succession of stomps, but Priest counters with a few kicks of his own. Priest hits a Crucifix Powerbomb and the South of Heaven on Dunne, but Dunne would kick out of the pin. After trading counters on strikes and finishing moves, Dunne floors Priest with a snug forearm.

Back to their feet, Damian Priest gets Pete Dunne in a position where the referee's view is obscured to get away with kicking Dunne below the belt. Taking advantage, Priest connects with The Reckoning for the pinfall.

Winner: Damian Priest

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Verdict

For the third week in a row, AEW wins the rating war with 1,014,000 viewers to WWE NXT's 712,000 viewers. It's three weeks and the lure of AEW Dynamite being the new kid on the block hasn't gone away. It is fair to say that AEW could continuously defeat WWE NXT in the rating war. After some time, It would be neat to see a one-off from AEW in a one-off timeslot against a WWE Monday Night RAW or Friday Night Smackdown. Until that happens, the real measuring stick will be the rating comparison between an AEW Pay Per View, such as Full Gear, and an NXT Takeover special.

I also give AEW Dynamite my vote this week for what interests me. I think this was the weakest week for both Dynamite and WWE NXT since the inception of the Wednesday Night Wars, but AEW Dynamite gets my vote. The matches that had my attention on WWE NXT were Tommaso Ciampa versus Angel Garza, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan versus Imperium, Matt Riddle versus Bronson Reed, and Pete Dunne versus Damian Priest. In comparison, those matches were edged out by SoCal Uncensored versus Best Friends, The Jurassic Express versus The Lucha Bros, Pac and Jon Moxley versus Adam Page and Kenny Omega, and Darby Allin versus Chris Jericho.

With AEW Dynamite, there was an overload of tag team wrestling, which I thought was going to be a detriment at first. However, almost all of the tag team matches were electric. The Philadelphia crowd popped big for everyone involved with the Pac and Jon Moxley versus Adam Page and Kenny Omega tag match. The cherry on top was the Philadelphia Street Fight between Darby Allin and Chris Jericho with the AEW World Championship on the line.

On the WWE NXT side of things, I enjoyed the return of Tommaso Ciampa, the battle between Matt Riddle and Bronson Reed, the athleticism on display with Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan versus Imperium, and the main event featuring Pete Dunne and Damian Priest. What the show didn't have going for it was any stakes on the line during the matches on the card. AEW is in the middle of a Tag Team Championship tournament while featuring their Women's Championship and World Championship matches on the same show. I understand that WWE NXT had some returns this week, which is nice, but it didn't measure up overall.

For those keeping score, that is AEW Dynamite in the rating war lead, 3-0, and leading my Wednesday Night War scorecard, 2-1. I'll be back next week for week four of the Wednesday Night Wars!