Of Marks And Men – 10/16/19 Wednesday night war week 3
Well here we are, “Wednesday Night War” week 3. After a strong showing for AEW in week 2, and in my opinion winning the week, we head into yet another head to head clash of NXT and AEW. While NXT wasn’t much of a part of the recent WWE draft, they did lose one of their premier tag teams in the Street Profits to RAW, which in my estimation hurts the brand a bit as the we have yet to feel the ramifications of the shock returns of both Finn Balor from his time off, and Tommaso Ciampa from injury. Meanwhile AEW introduced their first faction. Led by Chris Jericho, the “Inner Circle” is primed to wreak havoc on the stars of AEW. Where will the brands go from here? There is only one way to find out:
8:02 – fun new intro for NXT, I like it!!! looks good.
8:02 – NXT opening with the aforementioned Tommaso Ciampa. Excited to see how he looks in his first match back in quite a while, and against Angel Garza no less. Angel is a damn fine talent and has the potential to be HUGE if given the right opportunities.
8:08 – NXT – Ciampa wins a pretty obvious return match, he looked rusty some missed spots but overall a pretty standard squash match, it’s all about character “rebuilding” for him at this point”
8:10 – NXT – not liking this “USB” drive thing… I’m worried, it already has the stink of Vince on it…. god I hope he isn’t interjecting himself too much in this, that can only be a BAD thing, I hope HHH keeps him away….
8:16 – NXT – whelp there it is, I was worried about the USB drive, and well I wasn’t wrong.. showed Undisputed Era
8:15 – AEW – “Best Friends” lose to SCU in the AEW Tag Tournament, it was a heck of a match!!! full of great spots.
8:25 – AEW – a nice squash match for Santana and Ortiz (Proud and Powerful) it’s all about establishing their character, and that match (coupled with Jericho’s promo afterward) did just that, and now they are setting up a P&P vs. Young Bucks for their next PPV Full Gear.
8:27 – NXT – Imperium defeats Lorcan and Birch, in what can only be described as a top tier match between some exceptionally talented wrestlers, that NXT roster is STACKED!!!!
8:28 – NXT & AEW – competing promos for Cody Rhodes and Johnny Gargano on AEW and NXT respectively, I’m not sure if this was planned but I loved both of them!!! well done to both brands production departments, it made me want to see a Gargano Vs. Rhodes match!!!! God that would be incredible, those two would tear it up!!!! holy cow…. I’m gonna need a minute…
8:37 – NXT & AEW – Definitely feel like the respective production departments are watching each other, these shows are lining up a bit too well, tag vs. tag, women’s vs. women’s, promos vs. promos…
8:42 – NXT – I love Rhea Ripley…
8:45 – AEW – Riho defeats Britt Baker and retains her title, although I will say I am tired of them mentioning that Riho “started training at age 9” it’s already old, but I will say this, that match ran through 3 NXT segments, and most certainly dominated that quarter hour.
9:00 – AEW & NXT – there couldn’t be more polar opposite matches going on right now, I love Dijakovic and Lee head to head, every match has been fire, two HUGE dudes who move like tigers, and Jungle Boy and Marco Stunt vs. Lucha Bros. High flying action at it’s best!!! Stunt pulled off the most incredible DDT I’ve ever seen!!! I love how AEW is letting the cruiserweights shine, at least they realize that given the right circumstances the high flyers can get over.
9:06 – BOTH THESE MATCHES ARE ABSOLUTE FIRE!!!!!!!!! and I LOVED the triple threat swerve on NXT!!! Honestly I’m all for it, both Dijakovic and Lee deserve the booking, and even though I’m sure that Strong will retain the belt, I’m happy that they are getting the push.
9:17 – NXT – How in the hell did Matt Riddle manage to get Bronson Reed (who is like 370 LBS) into that slam?, dude legit picked him up, held him there, and slammed him down, he has that weird freaky strength that you can’t tell he has by looking at him. Was a pretty pedestrian match otherwise, I like how Reed is getting some bookings, he’s a big dude who has some moves, and a good in ring personality, don’t think he will ever be more than a mid carder, but you know what?? you need those mid-carders to have great matches to fill out a show.
9:29 – NXT – Teagan Knox gets the OBVIOUS win, it’s been all about her re establishing her character for the last few weeks, and it’s made her matches (while entertaining) a bit boring. One problem the WWE has is that they can be “swerve averse” and It can get a bit boring even with Shayna coming out and giving a pretty half hearted promo. Meanwhile on AEW, Moxley DDT’s his partner Pac, walks out, leaves him to lose. Much more interesting to watch as you never quite know what to expect.
9:42 – AEW – sooooo apparently Jericho is The Crow now….. but the pop for Allin was great, Kid is uber talented, I love what he does in the ring, his style is so chaotic, so dirty looking it plays well on TV. It’s the classic battle of Age and Ruthlessness vs. youth and exuberance. Meanwhile on the Black and Gold brand Pete Dunne takes on Damian Priest, I love Dunne, he’s a fun wrestler to watch, very diverse, he can brawl, mat wrestle, but honestly Priest IMO opinion is the worst of the “Big Guy” architype he’s really limited and can’t work a long match, he has never wowed me, and I don’t think he ever will.
9:54 – AEW – SEE!!! this is what I’m talking about!!!!! I love Darby getting his arms taped!!!! what a fantastic twist to watch Allin work with his hands tied behind his back!!! LITERALLY!!!!!! it was INTERESTING, and showcased how good Allin is!!! Jericho was brilliant as well, providing a great foil against which Allin Could shine. I hate that it ended with a Jack Hager run in, it made the end so pedestrian.
10:04 – NXT – Ok, I’m literally eating my words as I watch, Priest is actually doing quite well, granted Dunne is carrying the match, but Priest is playing off of it well, there have been some solid chain wrestling spots, mostly of the punching / kicking variety, but it still looks good. Priest won with a good ‘ol fashioned heel staple, the kick in the nards.. Once again a pretty pedestrian end to a good match, but it does keep his character firmly established. Obviously Dunne and Priest will end up going against one another at the next “Take Over” where Dunne will more than likely win.
Well here it was, honestly I think AEW once again had a better show overall, but it was far closer this week than last. Both brands are bringing it, and the real winners are the fans.
Intrigued to see what Friday brings, as it will be the first show of the new Smackdown era.
Until Next Time Everyone,
Be Good to Your Fellow Nerd,
Lou
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