It’s week 8 of the combat sports style scorecard of the Wednesday Night War. On the back of last week’s first ever split draw. The score now stands at
NXT - 3
Draws - 3
AEW -1
Can AEW end its long streak without a win or would NXT continue to shine
Round 1 - Chris Jericho celebration promo vs NXT opening promo.
JCH:The two opening segments differed. NXT was a more traditional style. Heels brag, faces retaliate, sets up a couple of matches for the evening. AEW went down a more over the top goofy comedy route. For me it was a bit hit or miss. I thought Jericho was very good. Guevara was strong, P&P were ok. Hager had a Goat. Ted Irvine and Soul Train Jones were bad.
I don’t think NXT did enough to get the win, but AEW dragged itself down so I’ll score this round a draw.
10-10
Brum: NXT started off strong tonight. I liked the jubilant homecoming & the opening promos were solid. 3-way builds can usually be clunky, but they’ve meshed Balor in with the Ciampa-Cole feud well. With that said, NXT aren’t winning this round. Too many highlights in the Jericho celebration to detail. My only gripe was the inclusion of the goat but I’m a North-East London veggie hipster so probably not representative.
10-9 AEW
Matt:This Jericho promo had me in stitches so only a 5-star classic could have made me not give this round to AEW. NXT opening promo was fine and set the scene for the show whilst acknowledging Survivor Series but The Goat being dragged by Hager alone wins this round.
10-9 AEW
Round 2 - Best Friends/Lucha Brothers vs Undisputed Era/Lee & Dijakovic
JCH: Best Friends and Lucha Brothers was decent here, shockingly a match with Penta and Fenix was good. Interesting to see if they move into some singles action after this loss. They’ve lost a couple of opportunities at the belts and another defeat here allows someone challengers to emerge for SCU - possibly Proud & Powerful. Unfortunately, they were up against the, seemingly weekly, great Undisputed Era tag match. Strong seamlessly filling in for Fish, who hopefully isn’t out too long. I had the match a bit higher anyway but just to secure the segment Keith Lee pounced Adam Cole into the crowd with possibly the best thing I’ve seen on TV ever.
NXT 10-9 AEW. 20-19 NXT
Brum:I’m a fan of both Best Friends & Lucha Bros but this match wasn’t anything more than solid. I like Cassidy too, but I don’t think this match gained anything from his input. NXT’s tag match on the other hand was fantastic. Considering they had to assimilate Strong into the match after the Fish injury, it’s even more impressive. Well done boys.
10-9 NXT. 19-19.
Matt:This NXT title match was a hoot once it got going. The Adam Cole crowd bump the highlight but overall a smart match and Era recovering from the personnel change to take the win is of course the right call. The AEW match was fairly routine and despite Orange Cassidy being as fun as he always is NXT wins this comfortably.
10-9 NXT. 19-19
Round 3 - Shida & Statlander/ Priestley & Sakura vs Candice LeRae/Dakota Kai
JCH:AEW had a perfectly solid tag team match that furthered Emi as a heel. I don’t quite know
how the rankings work; will this loss affect Shida’s position as number 1? I really enjoyed the Kai/LeRae match. Candice’s pre-match promo was really good as well. She is very easy to root for anyway and adding in the defence of Nox added to that. Kai had more of an attitude to her as a heel. Also, at the end Rhea Ripley came out of nowhere to kick a chair out of Kai’s hands. Which was bloody brilliant.
NXT 10-9 AEW. 30-28 NXT.
Brum:Good to see Statlander in AEW! Emi Sakura’s AEW run is growing on me too: she is cantankerous & I like it. With that said, the AEW women’s division to date has felt very “let’s throw stuff at the wall & see what sticks”. That’s not the worst strategy for a fledgling company but it certainly feels lazy. On the NXT side of the round, Kai LeRae wasn’t the most exceptional match but had some good character work. Kai’s use of Tegan’s knee brace is enough to give the win to NXT.
10-9 NXT. 29-28 NXT
Matt:The Women’s division on AEW continues to struggle for me. One match a week where they just shove all the women out there isn't doing it for me. NXT on the other hand have a great Women’s division and although this wasn't a crisp match it felt violent and had a story to it. Edge therefore to NXT.
10-9 NXT. 29-28 NXT.
Round 4 - Cody/Jobber (plus post-match). Vs. Mansoor/Thorne
JCH:Neither of these matches were anything special. Just a return from injury for Cody and a first win for Mansoor. Post-match AEW debuted another tag team completely cold which the audience didn’t know. However, I loved the Butcher and The Blade when I saw them over Mania week, so despite me not particularly liking the way they were introduced, my intrigue in them and Allie going forward gets this round for AEW.
AEW 10-9 NXT. 39-38 NXT
Brum:Not much to say about the squash itself. As for the post-match, the commentary & crowd dragged this down but I’m a fan of The Butcher & The Blade so glad to see them rock up. If they turn out to be Marty Scurll’s new faction, then even better. Mansoor comes across like some weird little 4Chan dweeb so the segment goes to AEW.
10-9 AEW. 38-38
Matt:Cody's routine win means little here. The Butcher and The Blade ruining the moment did. Such a shame the crowd couldn't get on board for it but that's understandable. Andy Williams is a guy I have heard good thing about, and he wears a bloody Monocle, so the hype is now real! Mansoor and Thorne did what they could with their time and hit some neat spots, but I can't pretend to care too much about either guy at this point so AEW take this.
10-9 AEW. 38-38
Round 5 - Omega/Pac vs Rush/Tozawa
JCH:Two very good matches here. This was the most I’ve enjoyed Kenny Omega and Pac continues to work at a high level. Rush and Tozawa had a banger on NXT for the Cruiserweight Title. Not much else to say other than check out these two matches. It’s a draw.
NXT 10-10 AEW. 49-48 NXT
Brum:2 good matches against each other here. PAC Omega was my favourite of the two, but I was considering giving this a 10-10 as I think the wrong man won. The downfall of Omega has been a compelling storyline & giving PAC another high-profile win would have been good all round. However, without knowing where they’re going, I’m going to stick with in-ring for now & give this to AEW.
10-9 AEW. 48-47 AEW
Matt:This Omega/PAC match was a bit of a let-down for me. Fine enough but didn't go long and was an example of the 50/50 booking that WWE fans have long complained about. Rush/Tozawa was a better effort for me but the Garza match is the rematch I want.
10-9 NXT. 48-47 NXT
Round 6 - Page/MJF (plus post-match) vs Bourne/Li (plus post-match)
JCH:I thought the MJF/Page match was pretty weak to be honest. The Cross Rhodes looked bad and I don’t really care about a diamond. Page and MJF after the match was more entertaining, though a Page vs Wardlow match isn’t high on my list of things to see. More spotlight for XIa Li on NXT. A quick convincing victory over Vanessa Bourne and then getting some more nice kicks in against the Horsewomen. Rhea and Shayna showdown completes a convincing victory for NXT here for me.
NXT 10-9 AEW. 59-57 NXT
Brum:This is a tough one to judge. The MJF Page match was OK but had a botched finish (unless you think it was on purpose as MJF couldn’t hit it as well as Cody, but that feels a stretch). Xia Li had a nice showcase but nothing too much to shout about. The MJF-DDP showdown was fun but so was Rhea-Shayna. Sorry, can’t separate them on this round.
10-10. 58-57 AEW
Matt:Big fan of the ridiculous ring. It feels very NWA and that is always a bonus for me. Prizes and purses are a staple of wrestling I can get behind. Match was solid but I'd imagine these two will have a better one down the line. Xia Li is building momentum and Shayna/Rhea continue to build to a bruising match but for me AEW takes this round.
10-9 AEW. 57-57
Round 7 - Dustin/Young Bucks/Inner Circle shenanigans + Jericho/Sky (plus post-match) Vs. Balor/Ciampa (plus post-match)
JCH:AEW continues to build the Inner Circle vs the Elite storyline nicely. With the Elite boys coming out on top here over Guevara and P&P thanks to the retuning Matt Jackson. Stereo curtain calls were a nice way to finish it. I found both these matches to be very similar. And I thought they were at best the 3rd best match on their respective shows. I’d probably have Balor/Ciampa as 4th. Both were good. Just didn’t reach that next gear for me. Interference and Shenanigans probably didn’t help. A little Mox/Jericho tease at the end from AEW. Which is a match that I’m probably less excited about than most, but I think those two guys will be able to sell it to me. NXT continue to build a Cole/Ciampa/Balor feud. Balor’s Pele kick on Cole was fantastic. I don’t think anyone hits that move as well as he does. And the execution to say he wasn’t with Cole was perfectly timed. That is enough to secure a 10-10 round.
NXT 10-10 AEW. NXT 69-67 AEW
Brum:On paper, I’d expect NXT to walk away with this. It’s understandable Ciampa Balor didn’t pull out all the stops at this stage but it was still a disappointment. I also think giving Ciampa (NXT’s top face) a clean loss felt like the wrong way to go but that could just be me. Sky Jericho was actually a bit better than I was expecting. Some of the false finishes delivered considering how unlikely they were. I think we’re probably honours even for the matches, but NXT just squeezes it as the post-match with Balor taking out Cole in the same way he took out Gargano was a nice touch.
10-9 NXT. 67-67
Matt:The Bucks re-uniting felt a bit rushed for me. Would have been happy to see this build a bit longer but I guess we needed a marque match for next week. The title match was fine but there was no real chance of Sky winning, although he did get two very close counts. Balor/Ciampa had a bit more intensity for me and although I am still unsure on my stance towards Balor, I am intrigued by the title scene over there so will give this one to NXT.
10-9 NXT 67-66 NXT.
Round 8 - Dark Order promo vs Cameron Grimes promo
JCH:AEW has been routinely winning these segments, this week however NXT upped their game. The Grimes promo was strong and more than just a video package of some of his matches. You got to hear from him and see him in his home environment and learn a bit about him. It’s not enough to completely win the segment however as AEW continue to let us know a little more about the Dark Order. Two nice packages that made me more interested in both intended targets.
NXT 10-10 AEW.
Brum:All tied going into the bonus round! This Dark Order stuff is really intriguing! I hope they nail the landing of it as it does have a risk of falling flat as it moves away from the vignettes. The Trevor Lee video was fine but not enough to take this segment from AEW.
10-9 AEW
Matt:Two really well put together promos for me. The Dark Order stuff is interesting because it is really good, but I can't help but feel these would have had a much bigger impact had we seen them before their debut. Still, I get that AEW feel like they haven't presented them to their maximum and are trying to add some meaning. This Grimes promo was really fun, but I don't really think it said anything, but I love Grimes so I'm maybe controversially giving his package the edge.
10-9 NXT
Overall
JCH:It’s an NXT victory for me. It won’t shock me if my colleagues have this the other way around if they liked the Page/MJF match or enjoyed more of the Jericho opening segment. Two more good TV shows though. Stories continue to move along as well as strong matches. Good stuff.
NXT 79-77
Brum:I said last week was probably the weakest head-to-head week yet, but tonight was a contender for that unfortunate accolade. Again, this is by the lofty standard of prior week’s, so they were still enjoyable shows. The highlights were the Jericho celebration on AEW & the tag title match on NXT – both worth checking out if you haven’t already. Another tight one but AEW edge it.
77-76 AEW.
Matt:NXT two weeks running! I've gone full heel on AEW.
77-75 NXT
It’s a 2-1 split decision victory for NXT as it picks up its fourth victory. The packages proved the deciding factors for Brum and Matt whilst for me a disappointing MJF/Page match was a big difference.
The scores continue to be tight and the Undisputed Era and the women’s division are consistently winning segments for NXT. Chris Jericho has a really strong record in promo segments, yet his match scores see him mostly on the losing side.
I have compiled some segment stats which will be posted when a larger sample size is with us.
Thanks again for checking us out.
OVERALL SCORECARDS
NXT - 4 (by split decision - 3, by majority decision - 1)
Draw -3 (2 majority draws, 1 split draw)
AEW - 1 (by majority decision - 1)
INDIVIDUAL SCORECARDS:
JCH: NXT - 5; Draw - 2 AEW - 1
Brum: NXT - 2; Draw - 3; AEW - 3
Matt C: NXT - 3; Draw - 1; AEW – 3
Guests: NXT - 1; Draw - 0; AEW - 0
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