WWE and AEW’s Wednesday Night War started in October 2019 as AEW Dynamite and NXT went head-to-head every week in order to see who would come out the better show. AEW Dynamite would win in the ratings war for the majority of the time. The Wars finally came to an end in April back in 2021 after NXT moved to Tuesday nights. People like Jim Ross believed it was a cop-out.
For 76 weeks the war between the two brands raged on and only on one occasion did AEW lose in the key 18-49 demographic rating against NXT. This was seen as a shock to many but AEW bounced back.
However, with WWE NXT achieving solid ratings in the past few weeks, WWE now has another plan for the brand. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the major spike in numbers come at a good time for the show’s TV contract renewal negotiations. In addition to that, this has also made WWE want NXT to compete against AEW Dynamite again.
“The two points most talked about by different people were that this is a contract year so these gains are coming at a great time for the renewal price, and those in NXT who are definitely pushing for the idea of doing numbers that beat Dynamite.”
WWE and AEW are on different trajectories now, but that might be changing soon as NXT’s growth is certainly something that can’t be ignored. We’ll have to wait and see whether AEW and NXT will go head to head once again.
What’s your view on this story? Do you want the Wednesday Night Wars again? Sound off in the comments!