Each NXT and AEW are limping into tonight’s struggle with disappointing attendance figures and uninspired playing cards as in comparison with final 12 months.
As a result of MLB playoffs, AEW Dynamite is transferring to Tuesday. You realize what which means: it’s Tuesday Night time Battle time!
Ugh.
Yeah, tonight, AEW and NXT go head-to-head… kind of.
NXT’s second present on The CW will air reside from Chesterfield, Missouri, at 8pm EST, whereas AEW hosts a particular Title Tuesday present from Spokane, Washington, beginning at 9pm EST.
So we could have a minimum of the ultimate hour of NXT and the primary hour of AEW really head-to-head.
In fact, this harkens again to the Wednesday Night time Wars, when AEW’s fledgling Dynamite program competed towards NXT on USA Community.
AEW gained that struggle resoundingly, beating NXT in whole viewers 63 instances to NXT’s 10. The struggle within the 18-49 demo was much more one-sided, with AEW prevailing 74 instances whereas NXT had one lone victory (December 18, 2019).
The one-sided struggle pressured WWE to relent and transfer NXT to its now acquainted Tuesday evening slot on April 13, 2021.
Final 12 months, once more as a result of MLB playoffs, the struggle reignited with a uncommon Tuesday Night time Battle on October 10, 2023.
Final 12 months, AEW once more put the Title Tuesday branding on the present, which featured the in-ring debut of Adam Copeland, Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW TNT Title #1 Contendeship, Orange Cassidy defeating Rey Fenix for the AEW Worldwide Title, Hikaru Shida defeating Saraya to win the AEW Girls’s Title, and Adam Copeland’s in the principle occasion as he defeated Luchasaurus.
AEW additionally did a “Purchase-In” earlier than Dynamite, with Eddie Kingston defending his ROH World and NJPW STRONG Championships towards Minoru Suzuki on YouTube. Regardless of the brand new air day, Dynamite aired at its regular p.m. EST begin time.
NXT countered with some important roster expertise injection, together with Asuka vs. Roxanne Perez, Ilja Dragunov defending his NXT Title towards Dominik Mysterio with LA Knight because the particular visitor referee, and Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker. The present additionally featured a number of appearances from the principle roster, like Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Paul Heyman, and even legends from the previous, like The Undertaker, who congratulated Hayes after his victory.
When the mud settled, NXT prevailed with 921,000 whole viewers and 396,000 viewers within the 18-49 demo, in comparison with AEW’s 609,000 and 346,000. Victory throughout the board for NXT.
This brings us to at present, the subsequent chapter within the Tuesday Night time Battle, which feels very completely different from what it did a 12 months in the past.
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