WedHead2Head - Week 20

It’s week 20 of the weekly combat sports style scorecard of the Wednesday Night Wars. AEW swept the month of February winning 4 straight weeks (including 10/12 judges scorecards) to close the gap on NXT to one. With the overall score being NXT 8, AEW 7, Draws 4 going into week 20. This week our friend from across the pond Sal Villarreal is back for his 3rd stint on Head2Head, he's given AEW 2 wins so far so it should see them in good stead. As usual Brum and myself make up the numbers. I was really busy this week so Brum stepped in to prepare the segments and for that I've allowed him to go first.

Form Guide:

Week 19 - AEW unanimous decision.

Week 18 - AEW Majority decision.

Week 17 - AEW unanimous decision

Week 16 - AEW split decision.

Week 15 - NXT split decision

Individual Judge Form Guides (week 19-15, L-R)

JCH - A- A-A-N-A

Brum -A- A- A -A -N

Guest -A_ D- A -A -N

R1 Mox Inner Circle promo VS Tegan / Kai

Brum: AEW’s opening did my swede in. “This belt doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to all of you, wah wah wah”. FUCK OFF MOX, YOU WET FLANNEL. You’re supposed to be a badass mate. You sound like those butter wouldn’t melt WWE babyfaces that have cursed their storytelling on & off for 35 years.

Saying that, the segment picked up with the arrival of Inner Circle. Jericho was on fire (again) tonight. I enjoyed the leave of absence tease as it adds another dimension to the main. Though I'm still not sure what I think of the crowd singing Jericho's (the main heel's) music. Matt Connolly is clearly rubbing off on me. Finally, I usually hate wrestling shirts, but the Inner Circle GnR one Sammy was wearing is a banger.

Bold open from NXT with the Nox vs Kai cage match. The match itself was good; Nox in particular nailed her facial expressions. The big talking point from this was the innovative finish. If I’m being too pernickety, Nox held onto the cage for too long before she was trapped, but that’s a minor beef as it was a great visual.

Nox 1 – 0 Mox

10-9 NXT.

JCH: It was a mixed bag over on AEW to kick off. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Moxley fawning over the fans part of this. It doesn’t really fit his lone wolf character. Jericho was great as the disillusioned former champ with all the excuses, putting himself on the line suggested their was shenanigans to come. On NXT the Kai and Nox storyline continued. I liked the match. I liked the creativity of the finish but I feel like Gonzalez was a little late getting there. Nox was left having to wait there for a few seconds to be trapped and it affected my enjoyment of the finish. I’m docking a point from both.

NXT 9-9 AEW

Sal: We get a first time opening the show Jeeerrrrrrrrrnnnnnn as AEW champion!  He says he will die before losing this title and I believe him.  IC out to the only karaoke anyone should enjoy.  Jericho’s pink blazer makes me feel underdressed.  We get a shutting of ass and sucking of ass.  Jericho training specifically for cyclop wrestlers was the reason he lost.  Tegan/Kai in DA CAGE!!  I assumed this would end this feud although i always enjoy a feud where one of the two wears dark lipstick to show me how bad they are.  The ending of the match with the Gonzalez steel cage sandwich of Tegan was very clever.  I am assuming a murder match is the only way to end this feud now. Jericho puts up leaving for 60 days if Moxley doesn’t leave on his own two feet because he is going on tour with Fozzy.  I got worked so hard, I called into work.  He also hugs Sammy cardboard cutout style.  I love hearing Mauro yell son of a bitch when Kai won but that makes Danhausen uncomfortable so I went with

AEW 10-9.

R2 SCU and Colt / Dark Order VS UE / 1-2 + post-match

Brum: Tough one to grade here as both matches were enjoyable. Seeing Colt on the big stage after his infamous last few years is lovely. Though not as good as UE/1-2’s previous battles, I thought NXT was the better match & it sealed the round with the post-match. GYV GOIN’ TO TAMPA, BITCHEZ.

10-9 NXT. 20-18 NXT so far.

JCH: Haha. Is this a contest. There was some decent action in the match on AEW and Colt got the win on debut, but I’ll be honest it didn’t keep my attention. UE and 1s and 2s didn’t hit the heights of their epic Takeover match a while back but they still win comfortably. Throw in a post-match Gibson promo and you have yourself a 10-8

NXT 10-8 AEW. 19-17 NXT

Sal: It was a fun opening multi man match.  Colt looks good and hits the Chicago skyline and Superman pin for the win.  Uno says the exalted one is not going to like this.  My body can not handle anyone teasing and I feel a swerve coming on. Redragon vs Tean 1 2 Nice heal tag work on the Guvna.  Oney gets his panic attack hot tag in but catches a high low from UE for the win. UE calls out the Broserweights which brings out GYV who beat them down which makes me think of Lonely Islands Golden Rule. Oney Lorcan tweeted GOT MY ASS KICKED ON NXT BUT IDGAF GONNA GO TO THE BAR ORDER AN IRISH CARBOMB AND GET IN ANOTHER FIGHT.

NXT 10-9. 19-19

R3 Swole / Bates VS Shotzi / Chelsea

Brum: An even harder round to judge here as both matches were short. I think this may break the record for most boring H2H round review ever. Sorry.

10-10. 30-28 NXT so far.

JCH: A short week of action for the women on AEW. Britt continues to be an entertaining unlikable presence on commentary and a quick squash for Swole. Not a huge amount more in the NXT match, but Chelsea is presented as a big deal and the action was a bit more substantial. Enough to take the win.

NXT 10-9 AEW. 29-26 NXT

Sal: Swole uses her hatred of literature as character development and beats up a librarian.  Britt Baker is on comm making sure Tony has his skinny vanilla latte.  Britt starts the conspiracy of what’s really on Big Swole’s driver license.   📷 Hmmm. ShotZi comes out no limit soldier style and I smile because I didn’t have a Power Wheel car as a kid.  I think once Stone goes more Mugatu and Green becomes more heel turn Tai from Clueless this will takeoff.  The person with lady balls isn’t in the ladder match becasue she was beat by the bad girl who didn’t cheat? I’m learning a lot about myself by liking Britt treat men so badly.  Chelsea isn’t mean enough for me and apparently that’s a fetish?

AEW 10-9. 29-28 AEW.

R4 Cody Jake Roberts segment VS Keith Lee & Grimes promo

Brum: : HOLY SHIT. Jake The Snake. Wow. What a segment this was. Jake’s delivery of his initial “Mighty Caesar” line was gold. Out of the two likeliest candidates to be the Snake’s new venom, I really hope it’s Brodie Lee rather than Archer. I enjoyed the latter’s G1 2019 run as much as the next kid, but his character is dorky as fuck & I don’t want anything to taint the tantalising return of Jake Roberts.

Do I like Keith Lee? Yes. Do I like Cameron Grimes? Yes, I do. Was this segment any good? No. I’m not sure if Grimes fluffed his lines or not but either way, this was not a smooth segment.

10-8 AEW. 38-38 so far.

JCH: Promo face-off segments and two good ones. Cody was interrupted by Jake ‘freaking’ Roberts. My first ever favorite wrestler! Also my first ever wrestling figure. Jake has a client? Who could that be? Luke Harper? He ended the promo with a killer line ‘don’t turn your back on anyone you fear or respect’ as he turned his back. Excellent. A unique promo. Speaking of unique promos, Keith Lee has a unique voice and delivery. F.R.G was basking like mad in the Everton 3rd kit. Grimes has real heat at Full Sail. As they chanted, literally no-one likes him. Drowning him out and not letting him get through his lines. I’m intrigued to see who Jake’s client is and I’m looking forward to Grimes vs Lee next week. It’s a draw.

10-10. 39-36 NXT.

Sal: Cody is so good at being a good guy that it feels like the first time every time.  He paint by numbers called out MJF and instead we get a surprise birthday style pop for Jake the Snake.  Never turn you back on someone you respect or fear.  HOW DARE YOU, SIR? 

Did Grimes beat the Underaker and now it is his yard?!  Boo this man boooooo!  Do people hate him this much or love Lee that much?  Poor guy gets a no one likes you chant but lucky Grimes has Stuart Smalley as his therapist.  Jake doing a reverse Goldberg and coming back to help younger talent is quite lovely.  The anticipation of our first short arm clothesline from Jake has to win over the apparently most hated man in nxt’s new found X pac heat.

AEW 10-9. 49-45 AEW.

R5 PAC / Chuckie T + post-match VS Swerve / Theory + Theory interview

Brum: Another tough round to judge. Both good matches. I hope we see more of Chuck as he’s a really underrated wrestler. Some of his PWG stuff is great. His finisher (The Awful Waffle) is one of my favourites ever. His matches with Ricochet & Marty Scurll from a couple of years back are worth digging out if you get the chance. JR talking about Chuck's frame was interesting. It had a sports feel about it which isn’t a bad thing.

As much as I’m blabbing on about Chuckie T, it’s the post-match that will be remembered. Triángulo de la Muerte sounds a million times better than Death Triangle, which joins the AEW wrestling-shapes family of The Inner Circle and DT's own Pentagon. These 3 lads are a great fit & looking forward to seeing what they get up to. Big Tony does like a stable, doesn’t he?

Less to say about Swerve Theory but it was probably the better match of the two. I’m not 100% sure but I think this is their first singles match against each other? That’s mad when you think of their shared time in EVOLVE. A lot of focus is on Theory now but Swerve is great & I hope he gets his time to shine at some point. As mentioned, this was the better match, but the AEW post-match makes this a tie.

10-10. 48-48 so far

JCH: Pac beat Chuckie T easier than he beat Orange Cassidy, not a good look for Chuck. The guy who wrestles with his hands in his pockets is better than you. I bloody love PAC. I love the formation of the Death Triangle. What a faction. Imagine the trios matches they can have. Speaking of matches. Great dismantling of the Best Friends Theory vs Swerve. WOW. This was great. Swerve is so good. Push Swerve. Theory has impressed me these last couple of weeks. But Swerve. That jumping back kick in the corner was incredible. He got a Madness chant out of an American audience at one point and then the arm spot was great. Theory finishing the match with one arm was top selling of that as well. Match of the Night and a win here.

NXT 10-9 AEW. 49-45 NXT

Sal:

R6 Hager / Marshall + post-match VS Gargano interview

Brum: I liked the Hager Marshall match more than expected & the post-match was fun, but this segment doesn’t stand a chance against the Gargano interview. This was so well done. Gargano nailed it & Mauro played his role well too. Top work.

10-9. 58-57 NXT so far.

JCH: NXT had Johnny Gargano losing it in a sit down in which Mauro played his part really well. It reminded me of the Progress camera guys rule in that Jimmy Havoc sit-down when people asked him questions from Alan Partridge. You’re giving me Jake Hager vs QT Marshall? Where AEW excels in story and character they don’t match up with the majority of their in-ring action. Luckily for them though the post-match is included and we get the next layer of the Young Bucks/Hangman Page story. Matt Jackson can’t save the day, but Hangman can whilst having a beer and then flips him off on his way out. I thought Gargano was good here especially mocking Mauro’s ridiculous pop culture references and AEW made me watch another Jake Hager match, so Hangman and Jackson only salvage a draw not win the segment.

NXT 10-10 AEW. 59-55 NXT

Sal: Hager puts on an arm choke exhibition.  Post match beat down involving the usual suspects resulting in Cowboy things.  Page could make Stone Cold blush. Gargano promo Gargano is acting unhinged the way Tom Cruise did in Jerry Maguire.  He gives Mauro a terrifying lap dance and reminds us that wearing powder blue jackets are not sneak attack attire.  Page standing at the top of the ramp arms full of beer looking like the bouncer at the club at 2 am telling you to finish your drink after just flipping off a close friend and beating up all the bad guys while being mindful of beer placement is the night out we all want.

AEW 10-9 NXT. 69-64 AEW

R7 Jericho & Sammy / Mox & Darby + post-match VS Dream / Roddy + UE backstage + post-match

Brum: Interesting take on the main event format in AEW with Mox taken out at the start. They played it well & Darby looked (again) like a star. Inner Circle standing tall on the Dynamite after Jericho dropping the title is the right move. This worked even better with the earlier Jericho tease of taking some time off.

With that said, NXT wins the main event battle tonight. The match itself was well done (especially for fans of Roddy’s ass), and the finish was brilliant. As a rule of thumb, I don't usually like when a wrestler loses on purpose. However, when used sparingly and sensibly, it’s a great tool. This match was the perfect example of that.

Do you know when you’re watching TV or a film, or reading a book, & a twist or realisation slaps you in the face? This is what this match felt like. There is that initial “Huh?”, then the “HOLY SHIT, THIS HAS ALL BEEN ABOUT COLE”, & then finally the internal teenage girl giggles. Excellent stuff.

10-9 NXT. 68-66 NXT so far.

JCH: Main event time and two good ones here. As expected Jericho had a plan to take out MOX and we were left with another star making performance from Darby Allin. Taking a beating and fighting back in a 2 on 1 until he had nothing left. The Judas Effect on the dive through the ropes was awesome. Dream and Roddy was also good. Roddy is one of the best there is and can’t have a bad match. I have an issue with going to the break just as Marina slid the kendo stick in. WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE KENDO STICK? Post match Dream locking Cole in the cage and destroying the Era whilst making his intentions to come after the title clear was very enjoyable. Up against it MOX getting destroyed of the stage through a table. The difference between the two matches for me is I felt bad for Allin and wanted him to survive, I wanted Roddy to twat Dream with a kendo stick. For that reason AEW takes the round.

AEW 10-9 NXT. 68-65 NXT.

Sal: IC jumping Mox to make it a handicap match basically is brilliant.  People love cheering for Darby against the odd.  Sammy break dances and does the Y2J pin like he’s trying to win the love of an older brother.  Jericho puts Darby into the NFL concussion tent with a Judas effect on him mid flight. Jericho and friends powerbomb Mox and give him a flock of birds.  Inner circle despite losing the title still feel dangerous. Roddy loses one of his of flyers, shows off his brown eye and becomes Calvin Klein.  The Dream can sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves.  Dream surprises everyone by going Bonesaw by locking Adam Cole into the cage for what I assume is three minutes of play time.  Nice to see a good guy do smart things. The closing shot of the Inner Circles tribute to Moxley was touching.  Seeing the NXT title on Dreams shoulder as he crouched at the top of the cage looking at the camera making you think he was going to do that thing from The Ring and come into your living room was enough to get the win.

NXT 10-9. 78-74 AEW

R8 Extras: Revolution Recaps, Blanchard/Spears, MJF promo VS Balor promo, Rhea segment, Mystery segments

Brum: The bonus segments are hard to judge this week as both sides had entertaining stuff. The Balor WALTER build is heating up which is great. I’m guessing this will be TakeOver Dublin rather than Tampa? I always like a mystery segment too. I’m assuming these are Killer Kross but could be way off. NXT’s best extra segment tonight though was the Rhea one. I’m not as invested in Rhea Charlotte as I should be, but this segment moved things in the right direction.

Over on AEW, the Revolution recaps were produced well. I like the Blanchard/Spears advertising for a partner thing. It’s a bit goofy but they need to do something with Spears because he’s a damp squib at the moment. MJF’s promo was the pick of the bunch of both shows tonight & just does enough to take the bonus round for AEW. That neck tattoo line was a beaut.

10-9 AEW.

JCH: Oh good. Shawn Spears still exists. A search for a partner, I wonder if that will be as successful as the search for the librarian. MJF was a smug prick. He is good at that. After Sunday I still worry if he can back up his great character work in the ring. Balor was solid, but my star of this week was the Rhea Ripley segment. Just awesome. Showing hw she’s changed to ovoid being compared to Charlotte, but she still has to go through Charlotte to prove herself. Ripley edges out MJF for the win.

NXT 10-9 AEW

Sal: MJF is all about pinning shoulders to the mat and banging rats.  The I pinned Cody shirt is brilliant.  The Revolution recap is unfair because that ppv was perfect.  I like the Blanchard Spears search only if it ends in Simon Miller getting shot. I want Finn to terrorize Walter dresses as the demon but acting like the boogeyman.  I like all these vignettes of the end is near because I dig dystopian future situations.  Rhea on the field with the ship and XFL promotion while she explains that to be the man you have beat Ric Flair then bear Charlotte or whatever was cool as well.

I like pirate ship.

NXT 10-9

Overall

Brum: I said last week that I was hoping as the build to Tampa ramps up, the weekly show quality will ramp up with it, and that’s exactly what’s happened! The Gargano interview & the main event finish were wonderful & hopefully spell good things for the future.

AEW were only a single point off on my scorecard though. I’ve not mentioned in the review yet, but I loved Revolution. Post-PPV shows have a risk of losing momentum, but this doesn’t look the case here. Blood & Guts is only a few weeks away so hopefully it’s full steam ahead until then. Did I mention I love Jake The Snake Roberts?

77-76 NXT.

JCH: Well the run comes to an end. AEW had been building fantastically well to Dynamite and we wondered If they could keep it going with nothing substantial to aim for? Well it wasn’t a bad show, but nowhere near the heights of the Pre-Revolution month. NXT began the road to Wrestlemania with a strong episode. Had the match of the night and picks up a convincing victory on my scorecard.

NXT 78-74 AEW

Sal: AEW coming off their amazing ppv felt like you were up in a fighter jet and you saved the day Iron Eagle style then had a smooth landing into AEW Dynamite continuing all stories and using the show the celebrate the victory of the ppv.  I could have never predicted that my once move based ROH Indy heart would be so in love with the story side of AEW.

AEW 77-75 NXT

Winner by split decision is NXT.

It was back to the old days as it was a one sided battle for me and Sal and it was left to Brum to provide the deciding vote and despite Jake Roberts, NXT held on for a much needed Win.

OVERALL SCORECARDS

NXT - 9 (by split decision - 5, by majority decision - 2, by unanimous decision - 2)

Draw -4 (3 majority draws, 1 split draw)

AEW - 7 (by majority decision - 3, by unanimous decision -2, by split decision - 2)

INDIVIDUAL SCORECARDS:

JCH: NXT - 10; Draw - 3 AEW - 7

Brum: NXT - 7; Draw - 5; AEW - 8

Matt C: NXT - 5; Draw - 1; AEW – 5

Ross : NXT - 3; Draw - 0; AEW - 1

DVD: NXT -0; Draw - 1; AEW - 1

Sal: NXT - 0; Draw - 0; AEW - 3