AEW Vs. WWE: Head To Head

10. Match Quality*

*NXT doesn't count. AEW is at war with the main roster. As a ticket-selling entity with a premium cable TV deal, and big international deals announced and yet to be announced, it is already a bigger entity than WWE developmental.

WWE depresses the fandom midweek—and cruelly inspires them on Sunday nights.

Within the trademark, slowed-down, we’re-telling-stories pace, the elite roster excels on pay-per-view. But not consistently. AJ Styles is the most prominent example; his match with Seth Rollins, at Money In The Bank, wasn’t so much a dream match as a dream fight, in which awesome moments of counter precision were framed within gripping, unvarnished physicality. Daniel Bryan is superb at elevating his opponents in matches as tremendous as they are unique to his brilliance. He has perfected the purity and safety of WWE’s broad storytelling.

But AJ did different stuff at a crawl with Ricochet, Kofi Kingston hasn’t wrestled a great match since capturing the WWE Championship, and the in-ring action is too often undermined by deliberate pacing and or poor-to-average featured players (Lacey Evans, Baron Corbin).

AEW’s best output is more diverse, more rich, more expressive, and more dynamic. Cody Vs. Dustin Rhodes was an emotive, blood-soaked masterpiece; Kenny Omega hasn’t even begun to peak in his new home, but has shown glimpses of his epic explosiveness; the charming-cum-brutal joshi element is unlike anything seen on U.S. soil; the tag team division is as deep as it is exhilarating in a high-octane gear WWE simply never reaches…

SCORECARD: AEW 1-0 WWE