AEW and NXT Wednesday Night War: 3 winners of night #13

This week’s look at the AEW/NXT Wednesday Night War focuses on a fun swerve, a great main event and a fun six-woman tag team match.

After AEW Dynamite took Christmas off and NXT aired a year-end clip show on New Year’s Day, the two shows finally got back to some first-run competition this past Wednesday. Which means it’s time to discuss the three (or more) wrestlers who stood out the most on the respective telecasts this week. But first, some honorable mentions:

Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page: Omega and Page teamed up once again on Dynamite, this time in a match against Private Party. We got more of the miscommunication spots that continue to build to Page’s probable heel turn, but he and Omega still picked up the win in an enjoyable opener.

The Dark Order: A few weeks removed from the Evil Smash Bros. and their contingent of masked jobbers smothering SCU and The Elite to the confusion and indifference of the crowd, the group got back on the right track this week when Evil Uno tried to lure a conflicted Christopher Daniels to their ranks before Scorpio Sky, Frankie Kazarian, and The Young Bucks intervened and got a measure of revenge on the cult group.

Johnny Gargano: Gargano’s first promo since returning on Dec. 18 wasn’t a home run, but it was still very good (so, a triple). He did a nice job establishing himself as the likable homegrown-ish star who stayed loyal while painting Finn Balor as a selfish star. It’s a bit hokey since Gargano is basically criticizing someone for taking a promotion in the same company he works in, but there’s enough of a distinction between NXT and RAW/SmackDown for this to work.

Chelsea Green: The former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion finally made her debut this past Wednesday on NXT, as she attacked Mia Yim and Kayden Carter after their singles match — which was won by Yim. With Rhea Ripley likely to hold the NXT Women’s Championship for some time, adding Green to the heel side was a smart move.