AEW and NXT Wednesday Night Wars: 3 winners of night #4

It’s time to once again examine the three wrestlers who stood out the most on NXT and AEW Dynamite following another great week of in-ring action.

As I’ve noted in this AEW and NXT series before, the great thing about being a wrestling fan in 2019 is the wealth of viewing options that are available. Big or small, there are enough promotions out there like to satisfy everyone’s tastes, no matter how niche they are.

So if you’re not a fan of awkward love triangle storylines, there are plenty of places to turn now for grappling entertainment.

For instance, you could check out NWA Powerrr if you like an old-school show with great promo work. Impact, for all its flaws, is a much better product creatively. And then there’s NXT and All Elite Wrestling (AEW): Dynamite, who give their respective audience great action and storytelling on a weekly basis.

This week, the folks at AEW may have put forth their best Dynamite episode in the show’s brief history. Meanwhile, NXT pumped out another quality two hours that concluded with a shocking heel turn.

We’ll get to the three standout wrestlers/teams/etc. in just a moment, but let’s look at some honorable mentions first:

Britt Baker- Baker received a great video package that outlined who she is, and what her goals are before she before won her homecoming showcase match against Jamie Hayer with her Lockjaw submission hold.

It’s clear that the promotion sees Baker as a wrestler to build the women’s division around in the future, so this accomplished its goal.

Tag Teams- More good stuff on the tag team front this week, specifically from the AEW side.

We got two more great matches in the company’s tag team tournament, with The Lucha Bros. beating Private Party and So Cal Uncensored outlasting The Dark Order to qualify for the finals. We also saw a fantastic battle between The Young Bucks and Best Friends, which the Jackson won after hitting More Bang for Your Buck.

Rhea Ripley- Ripley and Bianca Belair opened this week’s NXT with an entertaining battle of two powerhouses. The first NXT UK Women’s Champion scored the pin with her Riptide finisher, and seems to be headed for a rematch with Shayna Baszler.

Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai- Team Kick beat Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke in a fine tag match, granting them a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match against The Kabuki Warriors.

It will be great to see the Women’s Tag Titles finally defend on NXT, and it should be a cool homecoming for Kairi Sane and Asuka, who will surely get cheered despite being heels.

Io Shirai- I could go on and on about Shirai, but this GIF should suffice for this week.