Since WCW and WWE engaged in the infamous Monday Night Wars, wrestling promotions have sought to outdo each other during head-to-head broadcasts. AEW generally avoids scheduling conflicts with WWE and typically sticks to its Wednesday night timeslot for Dynamite, unless absolutely necessary due to sports league playoffs or significant events.
However, when AEW goes head-to-head with WWE, particularly against NXT, NXT often features higher-profile matchups to dominate the competition. This week, however, NXT chose not to stack the deck against AEW on Tuesday.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason for this choice is that WWE President Nick Khan did not give the instruction to do so. Meltzer noted that he usually makes this call, but nobody seems to know why he chose not to this time. He also pointed out that it is unlikely this decision was made out of goodwill; rather, it may have been a cost-benefit analysis since NXT has a history of defeating AEW in time-slot showdowns regardless of the specific matches on the card.
In the main event of NXT, Lady Shani won a WWE NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Battle Royal, earning a shot at the title. However, she later unmasked to reveal herself as Wren Sinclair. In the AEW Dynamite Grand Slam in France, AEW World Champion Will Ospreay defended his title against AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada.
