Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Wednesday Night War from Smark Out Moment, where we compare this week's episodes of AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT and determine which one of the two was the better show.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT WAR:

AEW DYNAMITE vs. NXT

FACTOR 1: MATCHES

AEW = AEW put on a great selection of matches this week, with Kenny Omega once again putting on a fabulous performance. His match against Trent was a clear 4 star classic, with both wrestlers looking like true stars. Omega’s performance in the match helped elevate the standing of Trent, which is positive to see.

Although Lance Archer vs Marko Stunt was a rare blip, this was more than made up for by 2 consecutive tag team matches, both of which were entertaining and compelling. AEW has a clear strength when it comes to their tag team matches, and 9 times out of 10 they knock it out of the park, which is what happened here.

NXT = Whilst the match quality on NXT wasn’t as high as what was on offer on Dynamite, the matches were largely entertaining. The highlight of the night was Dakota Kai winning the second chance gauntlet match, which was not only fun, but also fed into the narrative of the upcoming ladder match perfectly.

Keith Lee successfully defended his NXT North American Championship in a solid triple threat match, and whilst it was entertaining, it felt as though it was missing a level of urgency. The match was good, but it could have been much better.

WINNER: AEW

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

AEW = Brodie Lee produced a strong promo this week, however it lost some credibility as AEW once again elected to take a shot at Vince McMahon. This not only hurt the credibility of the promo, but it also impacts on the credibility of Brodie Lee.

NXT = Malcolm Bivens gave a strong promo on behalf of Rinku and Saurav, noting how strong the team is. He was passionate in his delivery, which helped sustain the impact of the promo.

WINNER: NXT

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

AEW = Inner Circle vs The Elite was once again highlighted, with the addition of Matt Hardy keeping the storyline interesting. Chris Jericho continues to perform at a high level, whilst everyone else involved appears to raise their game to make the storyline feel as big as it should.

NXT = The fight for a place in the women’s ladder match was at stake this week, which Dakota Kai won. However, Shotzi Blackheart was elevated through her performance in the match, and it will be an engrossing storyline to see how she follows this up.

Velveteen Dream put on a good match against Bobby Fish, highlighting in his post match promo that he means business. He added that Adam Cole should put down the video games in order to focus on Dream, which was insightful and compelling to watch. Their storyline has to set NXT on fire yet, but this week was a good effort to improve on this.

WINNER: AEW

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

AEW = AEW was a delight to watch this week, as it was an engrossing mix of strong matches and effective promos.

NXT = NXT was also a delight to watch this week, as they fully returned to their usual format. Matches were entertaining, and promos came off well.

WINNER: AEW

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

AEW gains points for Kenny Omega putting on yet another wrestling clinic. Week after week he performs at a high level, be it in tag team matches or singles matches, and he is clearly transitioning into the role of AEW’s MVP.

AEW loses points for once again taking a veiled shot at Vince McMahon. Come on AEW, you are much better than this.

NXT gains points for inserting Dakota Kai into the women’s ladder match, as this is the correct narrative to pursue, in my eyes.

NXT also gains points for giving KUSHIDA another televised win. KUSHIDA is something special, and hopefully this is the start of a sustained push for the Japanese star.

NXT loses points for the kidnap of Joaquin Wilde. Raul Mendoza’s kidnap went nowhere, and I fear the same will happen to Wilde.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: AEW (+1 / -1) / NXT (+2 / -1)


With close score of 3 to 2, AEW wins this week’s Wednesday Night War. Both shows were of a high quality, but AEW edged it thanks to the stellar output of their matches. NXT has restored its swagger following a series of poor shows, but was unable to match the high match quality on offer on Dynamite.

Both shows are providing a great level of entertainment on a Wednesday night, with both shows easily surpassing what is on offer on Raw and SmackDown. This means Wednesday nights are a delight for wrestling fans, and ultimately, it is the fans that benefit here. I love wrestling, and I love Wednesday nights!