WWE vs. AEW

WWE is an American Professional Wrestling company. It was founded by Vincent J. McMahon in 1953. Most notably, it was run by Vincent Kennedy McMahon in the previous four decades. Now, it is owned by Endeavor and held under TKO Group Holdings alongside UFC. WWE is arguably the biggest wrestling promotion in the history of Sports. 

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is also an American Professional Wrestling company. It is owned by Shahid Khan and run by his son, Tony Khan. Starting in 2019, the company has been a competition to WWE. It has been a serious competition for WWE after WCW. 

Wrestling vs. Entertainment

The most significant talking point between AEW and WWE is their content. WWE is more focused on entertainment these days. Gone are the days of brutal, bloody matches in WWE. They have moved to the PG Era and focus more on the family-friendly content that people of all ages can enjoy. AEW, on the other hand, focuses more on the physicality and brutality in the wrestling style. They target mostly hardcore wrestling fans. 

Storylines

The other major talking point between AEW and WWE is the storylines. People in WWE have mastered the art of storyline progression thanks to the company’s long history. They provide outstanding stuff sometimes. On the other hand, AEW has failed to deliver impactful stories behind their feuds. If you notice AEW these days, the only relevant story will be the one revolving around MJF, their World Champion. On the other hand, WWE has given us some worthy programs even without the TitleTitle being involved. 

Women’s Division

AEW’s women’s division is always a criticizing point for the company. They have failed to build compelling stories regarding their women. Saraya (fka Paige) winning the AEW Women’s Title made headlines, but the hype faded due to lack of proper booking. On the other hand, WWE has been getting better and better with the booking of their women. Stars like Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, and Charlotte Flair have created a worldwide effect when they had a main event match at WWE’s biggest show, WrestleMania. They also had successfully held an only women premium live event. 

Working with other Promotions

WWE is unique in its way and works alone. Forget working with them; they won’t even mention other promotions on their shows. AEW, on the other hand, has collaborations with other promotions. They work with Impact Wrestling at times. They have had a combined PPV alongside NJPW. They also have a flexible schedule and policies for their superstars, and allow them to compete on other shows. WWE would never allow that. 

WWE NXT head-to-head with AEW Dynamite

When AEW was founded, it was reported that the WWE Chairman Vince McMahon didn’t see them as a competition and didn’t care for what they did. However, since Triple H became WWE’s Chief Content Officer, they are building NXT as a third brand. Shawn Michaels is controlling NXT these days, and they are delivering some of the best work. NXT stars and champions such as Becky Lynch and Dominik Mysterio regularly appear on WWE Raw and SmackDown and defend the titles, adding value to them. 

AEW Dynamite airs on Wednesday, while WWE NXT airs on Tuesday. However, due to MLB Playoffs on TBS Network, AEW Dynamite was moved to Tuesday. So, AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT happened on the same night on October 10. Both promotions tried their best to put on better shows. AEW announced a Title, Tuesday Dynamite, while WWE announced major superstars for this NXT episode. Both shows also announced commercial-free first 30 minutes. 

WWE announced Undertaker, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Asuka to appear on this show. Shotzi, Jade Cargill, and LA Knight were also featured on the show. It was referred to as the Greatest NXT of All Time. Paul Heyman was also on the show. He also did some of his Bloodline business as he talked to The Rock’s daughter, Ava Raine. Undertaker and John Cena put over Carmelo Hayes and Bron Breakker in the main event spot. Cody Rhodes did a segment with the NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov. 

AEW Dynamite was advertised as TitleTitle Tuesday, and Titles were defended on the show. Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland opened the show with a great match. Chris Jericho was also in action on the show against Powerhouse Hobbs. Jon Moxley was announced to challenge Rey Fenix for the AEW International Champion. But it was revealed later that Moxley had not been medically cleared to compete, and Orange Cassidy replaced him. In a surprising turn of events, Cassidy reclaimed the TitleTitle. Fans also criticized it as AEW advertized Moxley till the last minute, even after they knew he was not medically cleared. AEW Women’s Title also changed hands on the show when Saraya lost the TitleTitle to Hikaru Shida. “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland fka Edge debuted in the main event against Luchasaurus. 

Ratings

WWE NXT got the better of AEW Dynamite in ratings. NXT grabbed a viewership of 921,000 with 0.30 in Demo (18-49). On the other hand, AEW grabbed 609,000 viewers with 0.26 in Demo (18-49). NXT went 7.5% above from last week, and AEW Dynamite was 24% less than the previous week. It was a huge margin victory for WWE NXT, and the WWE Universe criticized AEW on Twitter (X). AEW President Tony Khan also made comments on this. 

There is a moral viewpoint on this Tuesday Night War also. NXT used all its powers to grab these numbers. We have talked about how WWE legends and top names made cameo appearances on the show. Unlike a normal weekly NXT edition, they won’t do that consistently. Some people also talked about how WWE didn’t get above 1 Million viewers. On the other hand, AEW Dynamite used the options they had. They never went for cameo appearances and used their regular stars. They can put on this content every week. The arrival of Adam Copeland is a bigger deal. On a short note, this period was good for wrestling fans as they enjoyed good shows on both sides. It has the least possibility of happening again shortly.