Wednesday Night Wars: AEW vs NXT Week 5

It's been a clean sweep after four weeks in the Wednesday Night Wars for All Elite Wrestling in rating supremacy. However, the quality of the shows I believe is split. Going into week five, I've pondered: Do we value ratings too much versus what we like on an individual basis? AEW has run away with the rating victories so far, but WWE NXT is still producing a great product to combat AEW Dynamite. This week, AEW Dynamite is live from Charleston, West Virginia while WWE NXT remains at its studio location of Full Sail University.

Here is how AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT unfolded through week five of the Wednesday Night Wars:

AEW Dynamite; Charleston, West Virginia

AEW Dynamite live from Charleston, West Virginia opens with Tony Schiavone and Cody stepping off of a plane. Cody hugs his brother, Dustin Rhodes, before walking from the plane to the limousine with Schiavone. The contract signing for the AEW World Championship at AEW Full Gear between Cody and Chris Jericho is later tonight, so Schiavone is accompanying Cody to the arena in the limousine.

1) "The Best Ever" Sammy Guevara (2-2) vs "Hangman" Adam Page (3-3)

In the early stages of the match, Sammy Guevara and Adam Page exchanged strikes, but that was a losing battle for Guevara. Once the match got to the outside of the ring, Guevara was able to whip Page into the guardrail and even the playing field. Back inside of the ring, Page threw Guevara with a Fallaway Slam.

Sammy Guevara answered back with a Samoan Drop on Adam Page, then went to the top rope. Instead of doing something high risk that may have had a high reward, Guevara hopped back down from the top rope just to slap Page across the face. On the apron, Guevara tried to get back on offense, but Page countered with a Sidewalk Slam. Back into the ring, Page would hit a Pop Up Powerbomb for a two count. About a minute later, Page hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall.

Winner: Adam Page (4-3)

After the match, Adam Page said, "At Full Gear, I'm going to do some 'Real Cowboy Sh*t' and I'm gonna' take Pac's head off!" TNT wasn't on the censors for that one.

2) "Portugal's Perfect Athlete" Shanna (0-0) vs Hikaru Shida (1-1)

The action goes to the outside of the ring pretty quickly in this match as Shanna attempts a Suicide Dive, but Hikaru Shida cuts her off with a knee. Shida then folds open a steel chair and leaps off of it to connect an Ohori no Tamashii on the outside. Back into the ring, Shida connects with another Ohori no Tamashii to Shanna in the corner of the ring. After trading strikes, Shida countered with a Hurricanrana. Following Shida's Hurricanrana, Shanna did a version of Angel's Wings for a two count.

Shanna started to put things together on offense, connecting with a Diving Foot Stomp on Hikaru Shida as she is bound on the middle rope for a two count. Shanna went to the outside of the ring apron, but Shida caught her in a suplex position, connecting a Superplex from the outside back into the center of the ring. Shida goes for an Ohori no Tamashii, but Shanna counters with a pin for a two count. This time, Shida connects with the Ohori no Tamashii followed by a Falcon Arrow, but Shanna kicked out at two. Shida connects with the Three Count immediately after for the pinfall.

Winner: Hikaru Shida (2-1)

The Rock n' Roll Express walk out with the AEW Tag Team Championships. They'll be awarding them to the winners of The Lucha Bros versus SoCal Uncensored. Santana and Ortiz attack The Rock n' Roll Express from behind. Ortiz and Santana Powerbomb Ricky Morton through the entrance stage. The Young Bucks come out to help The Rock n' Roll Express, but Santana and Ortiz runoff.

Tony Schiavone and Cody are in the limousine on the way to the arena and they are talking about Cody not being nervous about his match at Full Gear with Chris Jericho. Schiavone shares a story about Dusty Rhodes meeting Willie Nelson, with the moral that Dusty made Nelson wait for him by the pool that day. Cody shared that he isn't nervous about a match with Jericho or The Inner Circle, but his mother will be at Full Gear. He wants to impress her and he's more fixated on that.

3) John Silver & Alex Reynolds, and QT Marshall (0-0) vs Best Friends (0-0)

The Best Friends are being announced to the ring by Morty of "Rick and Morty" since AEW is doing a promotional cross over regarding a new season of "Rick and Morty" coming out on November 10th, 2019.

Trent Baretta is dressed up like Morty while Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy are dressed up like Rick. I've never witnessed anything like it, but I've seen Swamp Monster accompany Cassidy to the ring before, so I can never say I am surprised by the strange world of wrestling. Taylor hits a Standing Sliced Bread on QT Marshall. Following that, Baretta and Taylor hit the Sole Food/Half Nelson Suplex double team on Alex Reynolds. Marshall cuts off the Best Friends hug, so Cassidy comes in the ring to confront.

Orange Cassidy gives a couple of nonchalant kicks to QT Marshall before giving a proper Dropkick. Now, as a trio, the Best Friends hug. Cassidy does a Suicide Dive to Alex Reynolds and Marshall on the outside. Best Friends hit the Strong Zero on John Silver as Trent Baretta is credited with the pinfall.

Winners: Best Friends (1-0)

Continued on the page below.

Chris Jericho makes his way to the top of the entrance ramp and sits at the table, ready to sign the contract to face Cody at Full Gear. Tony Schiavone announces both Jericho and Cody to the fans in Charleston, West Virginia. Cody signs the contract without any drama. Jericho stands up like he is going to flip the table, so Cody gets up too. Jericho talks some trash to Cody and then signs the contract.

Chris Jericho and Cody shook hands, but Cody pulled Jericho in close. Jericho replied, "We can stand here all night Cody, but you might be needed elsewhere." On the video screen, Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager are attacking Dustin Rhodes back where the limousine is. Hager took Rhodes' head and bounced it off the back of the car. Hager than slammed the car door on Rhodes' arm.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Cody make it back to the limousine after the damage has been done to Dustin Rhodes. Chris Jericho walks by and lights a cigar.

4) The Hybrid 2 & "Superbad" Kip Sabian (2-3) vs The Elite (1-1)

The Young Bucks are dressed up as Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, while Kenny Omega is dressed up as Sans from Undertale. Early offense goes to The Elite who is able to hit a Double Enzugiri on Kip Sabian in the corner, followed by a Springboard Foot Stomp. Jack Evans hits a Springboard Roundhouse Kick to Omega followed by a Handspring Tope Suicida. The Hybrid 2 takes control of their team, double-teaming on Matt Jackson.

Kip Sabian cuts off offense from Matt Jackson with a Reverse Hurricanrana. Sabian tags out to Jack Evans and Matt tags to Kenny Omega. Omega hits a Snap Dragon Suplex on The Hybrid 2 and Sabian. The teams trade strikes before Evans uses Nick Jackson as a mount to do a Diving Moonsault on Matt Jackson on the outside of the ring. Omega hits a V-Trigger on Angelico, but then Sabian cuts off Omega who was going for a Suicide Dive.

Kip Sabian goes for a Tope Con Hilo to the outside of the ring, but The Elite catches him and hits a Powerbomb to the apron. Kenny Omega goes for a V-Trigger on Jack Evans but missed. Evans jumps off the top rope, but The Elite hits the Superkick Party. Omega hits the V-Trigger this time on Evans and then the One-Winged Angel for the pinfall. Omega gets credit for the pin on Evans.

Winners: The Elite (2-1)

After the match, Ortiz and Santana are in the crowd and jump The Young Bucks. Kenny Omega sees this happening, but Ortiz and Santana bail before Omega gets over to help The Young Bucks.

Peter Avalon and Leva Bates both come to the ring, running down the audience and telling everyone to be quiet. Avalon and Bates get to the ring and Jon Moxley enters from backstage through the crowd. Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift on Avalon. Moxley speaks about his match with Kenny Omega at Full Gear being a Lights Out unsanctioned match, which won't affect match records. Truth is, Moxley is insulted that this is the kind of match he has against Omega at Full Gear.

Main Event: The Lucha Bros (5-2) vs SoCal Uncensored (5-3)

This match is to crown the first-ever AEW Tag Team champions. Private Party and The Dark Order are in the audience watching the AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament finals.

Early in the match, Pentagon Jr connects with a Pentagon Driver on Frankie Kazarian for a two count. Almost immediately after, Rey Fenix does a Tightrope Walk Face Kick to Kazarian who gets rolled up for a two count. Scorpio Sky helps his team get some offense on the Lucha Bros, launching his partner with a Monkey Flip to get extra momentum behind a Double Clothesline. After connecting with a Springboard Legdrop, Kazarian pins Fenix for a two count. Instead of letting Pentagon Jr break up the pinfall, Kazarian lifts up Fenix in the way of Pentagon Jr's kick, acting as a shield.

Frankie Kazarian is still in the ring as the legal man, which he was for the majority of the match. Rey Fenix connects with the most magnificent Springboard Armdrag I've ever seen. Kazarian begins to fight out of the Lucha Bros corner and tags in Scorpio Sky. Rey Fenix is still the legal man. Sky connects with a Tornado DDT for a two count.

Rey Fenix and Scorpio Sky both knock each other down with a Running Crossbody. The Lucha Bros are back to their feet first and Fenix perches on top of Pentagon Jr's shoulders for a Diving Splash that gets a two count. Pentagon Jr is tagged in and the Lucha Bros look to finish off Sky with the Package Piledriver/Diving Foot Stomp combination, but Sky pins Pentagon Jr with a Small Package Pin. Sky gets the credit for the pinfall on Pentagon Jr.

Winners AND FIRST AEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: SoCal Uncensored (6-3)

AEW Dynamite goes off the air with SoCal Uncensored celebrating their AEW Tag Team Championship victory.

Continued on the page below.

NXT; Full Sail University

Musical artist Poppy plays "I Disagree" as the intro to this week's NXT for the live audience before transitioning to "Scary Mask," which is Io Shirai's entrance music. Poppy plays "Scary Mask" live as Io Shirai makes her entrance.

1) "The Genius of the Sky" Io Shirai vs Candice LeRae

The two exchange a Suicide Dive each on each other to the outside, but Candice LeRae had the upper hand as the action returned back into the ring. LeRae ends up getting caught in the corner and Io Shirai connects with a Lungblower. Each time LeRae seems to be getting back into the match, Shirai ultimately prevails with the offense. LeRae connects with a Tornado DDT. Shirai kicks out at two.

Looking to end the match, Io Shirai goes for her Diving Moonsault, but Candice LeRae gets her knees up. LeRae is unable to truly capitalize as Shirai takes her down into a Headscissors submission. Shirai gets a chair and goes to hit LeRae with it, but the referee pulls the chair out of Shirai's grasp. LeRae connects with the Heartbreaker and goes for La Quebrada while Shirai is on the steel chair. Shirai moves out of the way, LeRae lands on the chair, and Shirai gets the pinfall.

Winner: Io Shirai

After the match, Io Shirai mounts Candice LeRae and starts throwing punches. Shirai goes to pick up the chair again, but Rhea Ripley runs down to the ring and kicks the chair out of Shirai's hands. Ripley picks up the chair and swings it at Shirai, but Shirai ducks under and out of the ring.

Finn Balor comes to the ring and takes a shot at losing to The Fiend on RAW, saying "Two months ago, I'm laying down for what's supposed to be the hottest new thing in the business, just because he put on a new mask. Well, I just took my mask off and now I'm the hottest thing in the business." Balor makes a challenge to Johnny Gargano.

2) "The Black Swan" Shane Thorne vs "The Aus-zilla" Bronson Reed

Immediately, Shane Thorne begins with two Running Dropkicks that corners Bronson Reed, followed by a Cannonball. Both end up throwing chops at each other, which Reed is left standing. Reed launches Thorne with a German Suplex and follows with a Death Drop Driver for a two count. Thorne had Reed perched on the top turnbuckle for a Top Rope Frankensteiner, but Reed just shoved him back down to the canvas out of mid-air. Reed hits a Diving Splash for the pinfall.

Winner: Bronson Reed

3) Team Kick vs The Kabuki Warriors (c)

This match is for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. Tegan Nox begins against Asuka and catches a kick to the stomach while doing rope running transitions. Kairi Sane trades chops with Nox, eventually throwing Nox down to the canvas. Dakota Kai tags in who helps with some double team moves on Asuka in the corner before pinning for a two count.

The Kabuki Warriors lift both of Dakota Kai's legs and drive them into the canvas, doing damage to both knees. After a succession of kicks and double team strikes, Kairi Sane pins Kai for a two count. Kai connects a Scorpion Kick on Sane before finally making a tag to Tegan Nox. Nox goes to follow with The Shiniest Wizard after connecting with a Diving Crossbody on Asuka, but Asuka counters into a Kneebar. Nox reverses into a Cross Ambreaker, but Sane breaks that up.

Dakota Kai connects with the Kaio Kick on Asuka, who is out on her feet. The referee is distracted by Kairi Sane and Asuka spits the Green Mist into Kai's face. Asuka tags in Sane who nails the Insane Elbow and covers Kai. Sane gets the credit for the pinfall.

Winners AND STILL WWE Women's Tag Team Champions: The Kabuki Warriors

Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir make their way to the ring as Dakota Kai is being aided to with the mist in her face. As soon as Baszler enters the ring, Tegan Nox attacks with a Running Forearm. Duke and Shafir pounce on Nox, outnumbering two-on-one. Nox is eventually floored by a Step-Up Enziguri from Baszler. Just before Baszler is about to stomp on Nox's hand, trying to break it, Rhea Ripley is back to confront Baszler.

As Rhea Ripley was walking towards the ring to meet Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai met her halfway down the entrance ramp with a Superman Punch of her own. Ripley is throwing punches back at Shirai until Bianca Belair attacks Ripley from behind. Candice LeRae runs in and attacks Shirai. Belair takes down LeRae with a forearm, Ripley takes down Belair with a kick, Jessamyn Duke with a kick, and Marina Shafir with a punch. Now, Ripley and Baszler have locked eyes again.

Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler are in the ring and Ripley took down Baszler before throwing punches. Bianca Belair and Io Shirai get back into the ring and attack Ripley before Candice LeRae attacks Shirai again. Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir are back in the ring, but Team Kick is back up and fighting back. Referees hit the ring to try to break everything up. General Manager William Regal gets on the microphone and says, "I got a very simple solution for this. War Games!"

4) "Textbook" Tyler Bate vs "The Technical Savage" Cameron Grimes

Tyler Bate took on the early advantage with his British Wrestling prowess, including fantastic footwork. Most opportunities that Cameron Grimes had early on were reversed by Bate. Bate hits the Airplane Spin and follows with an attempted Flying Headscissors, but Grimes counters with a Sitout Sideslam.

The couple exchange near falls, one from Cameron Grimes' Carolina Reaper and the other from Tyler Bate's Exploder Suplex followed by a Standing Shooting Star Press. Bate goes for a Rebound Clothesline, but Grimes counters with a Collision Course for a two count. As Bate was on the outside on the offensive, Killian Dain served as a distraction from the crowd. Still distracted by Killian Dain as he entered the ring, Tyler Bate stepped through the ropes and Cameron Grimes hit the Cave-In for the pinfall.

Winner: Cameron Grimes

Continued on the page below.

After the match, Killian Dain stepped into the ring and hit a Senton Splash on Tyler Bate. Dain hits a Cannonball to Bate as he is seated next to the steel steps on the outside. Dain says, "You tell your friend, Pete Dunne, we have unfinished business!"

Main Event: "Limitless" Keith Lee & "The Original Bro" Matt Riddle vs The Undisputed Era

Keith Lee gets double teamed by The Undisputed Era early on, which is very smart. Lee overpowers The Undisputed Era, sending Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish into one another, then leapfrogs both of The Undisputed Era at the same time, and follows with a Crossbody that takes out the team. Matt Riddle is tagged in and The Undisputed Era receives chops from him and Lee. Riddle connects with a Spear on O'Reilly and a Jackhammer on Fish for a two count.

Kyle O'Reilly tags in Bobby Fish, but Matt Riddle answers with mid-kicks on The Undisputed Era. Riddle hits a simultaneous Final Flash on The Undisputed Era, but The Undisputed Era answers back with Chasing The Dragon for a two count. Keith Lee is tagged in, runs straight through two mid-kicks from The Undisputed Era, and takes out the team with a Double Running Clothesline. Lee had Bobby Fish up in a Powerbomb position, but Kyle O'Reilly swept the legs of Lee. O'Reilly is the legal man and Fish hits a Samoan Drop on Lee.

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong run down to the ring apron, but Matt Riddle fights them off. Riddle does a Springboard Moonsault on all of The Undisputed Era, then enters back into the ring and hits a Ripchord Final Flash on Bobby Fish. Keith Lee hits The Pounce on Cole, shooting him into Strong. The Undisputed Era hit the High Low Combination on Riddle for the pinfall. Fish gets credit for pinning Riddle.

Winners: The Undisputed Era

After the match, The Undisputed Era celebrates briefly in the ring before attacking Keith Lee. Here comes Tommaso Ciampa running to the ring with his crutch in hand. Adam Cole is the only one in the ring when Ciampa gets in, but leaves and Kyle O'Reilly tries to sneak up on Ciampa. Ciampa throws his crutch at O'Reilly who catches it and a Pump Kick to the chest. Ciampa is returning the attack to O'Reilly.

Tommaso Ciampa throws Kyle O'Reilly towards Matt Riddle, who hits a Final Flash. Keith Lee gets O'Reilly in a Gorilla Press position and hurls him over the top rope and out of the ring into the bodies of his fellow Undisputed Era comrades. Ciampa grabs a microphone and looks at the NXT Championship. He says, "Goldie, you're going to have to wait. Daddy's going to war." NXT then goes off the air.

Verdict

This is the fifth installment of the Wednesday Night Wars and the fifth time that All Elite Wrestling has officially won the rating war. Both shows had to battle with the final game of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals, so there was a drop in viewership. AEW had 759,000 viewers and NXT had 580,000 viewers. That charts out to be a .33 rating for AEW and .18 for NXT. That puts AEW at 5-0 in the rating war.

So far, it is 2-2 when it comes down to my verdict between AEW and NXT. I loved NXT for what they did with their women's wrestling, creating the first-ever women's War Games at the next NXT Takeover special. Team Rhea Ripley versus Team Shayna Baszler creates an opportunity for the next person that Baszler defends the title against to be the one who scores the pinfall for team Ripley. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship being defended on NXT television against Team Kick was great for the NXT brand. I think more title matches should be crossed over.

I may be the only person that enjoyed the "Rick and Morty" cross over on AEW with The Best Friends. I did dress up as Orange Cassidy for Halloween, so I'll approve my guilty pleasure in this episode. Shanna's match against Hikaru Shida was a pleasure to watch, especially since I knew nothing about Shanna before the match. The seeds were planted from the very beginning about the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament finals, where SoCal Uncensored won. I also enjoyed the story unraveling between The Inner Circle and Chris Jericho as he gets ready to defend the AEW World Championship against Cody.

I think all of this ends up boiling down to one segment for each show as I felt both were even-strength so far. While a lot of people may be eating up Finn Balor's promo on NXT, it didn't sit right with me that it came at the expense of the hottest talent on the WWE main roster, The Fiend. Had that been rephrased, I thought Balor's promo would have been just as effective. With Jon Moxley, he provided a different reason as to why he doesn't like being kept "in a box" as an "unsanctionable" wrestler. Moxley's promo showed more layers to his character.

I'm giving my verdict this week to AEW Dynamite, but it was very close. They'll leave the fifth week of the Wednesday Night Wars at 3-2 when it comes to my verdict, but with an undefeated mark of 5-0 in the rating wars. Thank you for reading. Give a follow on Twitter at EricReesePSN. I will be back next week with another rundown of the AEW versus WWE NXT Wednesday Night Wars!