History was made Wednesday night when a new wrestling war began. All Elite Wrestling presented its inaugural "Dynamite" show on TNT from the sold-out Capital One Arena in Washington, while WWE presented NXT from the sold-out Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla.
How did the upstart promotion execute in its first time out? How did the established brand fare with AEW nipping at its heels?
Each week, Sporting News will give you the winners and losers from the "Wednesday Night Wars."
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Winners
The fans. At the end of the day, Wednesday night wouldn't have been possible if pro wrestling fans didn't care about the product. They were tired of what the WWE was putting out and were actively seeking change. They wanted better wrestling. Along came AEW to answer the call. Because of the new promotion, WWE realized it was time to start delivering what people are looking for in this day of modern wrestling. Once AEW was scheduled to go on Wednesday, WWE decided to move NXT from the WWE Network to USA Network.
You could see on both shows how excited people were to be there. They knew something special was in the air, and they were able to be apart of this moment in time. The fans got to see great wrestling and stories for over two hours. When you combine those two things, everyone wins.
Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle. When AEW announced a few weeks back that its first match was going to be Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara, WWE countered with an NXT championship match between Cole and Riddle. The pressure was on both guys to set the tone for the entire show, and they delivered in spades with excellent back-and-forth action, which in turn had the crowd in the palms of their hands. A great, creative finish in having Cole use the cast from the attack by Riddle on last week's show. Cole is one of the best in the business, and Riddle, if given the opportunity, can be "The Guy."
On a monumental evening, this was the best match on either show.
Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara. Like Cole and Riddle, the heat was on Rhodes and Guevara to deliver. Rhodes, an executive vice president of AEW, handpicked the 26-year-old to have the debut match on "Dynamite." You couldn't have asked for a better match to kick things off for AEW. Was it better than Cole-Riddle? No, but the action was great and the crowd was hot for everything they did. The bout was paced well with good false finishes, and even though Rhodes won, it helped establish Guevara as a heel.
Add in the attack by Chris Jericho after the match and this was the proper way to get things started. Jericho is an established name who the fans in the arena and the fans watching at home know.
Riho vs. Nyla Rose. On paper, the match shouldn't have been very good, but I couldn't have been more wrong. They delivered the goods and then some. Rose couldn't have played the menacing monster heel any better and Riho as the sympathetic babyface suits her quite well. The fans bought it hook, line, and sinker. Rose will get her chance as the champion, but having a fan favorite capturing the first women's title belt was the correct move.
Losers
Kevin Smith and Jason Mewls' segment with Jack Evans and Angelico. Smith and Mewls were there to promote the reboot of "Jay and Silent Bob," in which Jericho has a role. The movie was plugged, and then Evans and Angelico interrupted to threaten the actors. Private Party arrived on the scene to have the actors' back.
If this wasn't the first show, then this could pass as acceptable. Smith is a recognizable name, and AEW is looking for as much mainstream publicity as possible, but it wasn't the right time for something like this. It took the life out of the crowd for a bit because it made no sense. Neither team is facing each other in the upcoming tag team tournament and just met each other at All Out.
Shayna Baszler. Before everyone gets upset, this is no reflection on the match she had with Candice LeRae. It was good, but that was due to LeRae, who is an underrated performer. Baszler has shown no improvement in the ring. Facing opponents the caliber of LeRae, Io Shirai and Kairi Sane should have raised her game, but it hasn't. She carries herself like a star, but when the bell rings, Baszler comes up short and underwhelms. It was time for a new champion and LeRae would have been an excellent choice to make the switch. Hard to see what WWE sees in her.
Brandon Cutler. After the hot open, Cutler took on MJF, with the latter winning in about two minutes. Cutler didn't come off as someone who belonged on a special night when everyone involved should be perceived as someone on which to keep an eye. Cutler also was shaky in the ring with two blown spots. He's going to have improve quickly in order to hang with a lot of the talent in AEW.
The return of Finn Balor. The longest-running NXT champion and first Universal champion appearing to confront Adam Cole was a sight to see, but why have him there at all? The move came off as desperate because the perception then is the promotion needs someone from the main roster to give NXT a boost when that isn't necessary. There's plenty of exceptional talent to put in a program with Cole, such as Keith Lee, WALTER and Donovan Dijakovic. Give them a chance, because that's how new stars are created, not by going back to established acts.
