Yet another fascinating chapter of the new wrestling war was written following the release of Week 11's ratings.
In an astonishing turn of events, both NXT and AEW Dynamite drew 778,000 viewers to their shows - the first actual tie after several ones close enough to be considered as such. It's tricky to assess what exactly reflects in the immediate aftermath, though the combined 1.5m that tuned in remains healthy for a time of year that hasn't been particularly fruitful in recent years.
It speaks to the quality of both shows that fans are choosing to spend their time on quality products on Wednesday nights, even if the most tribal of fans can't yet declare victory in the war. A draw at this point is most scintillating, just as it was in 1996 before WCW exploded with the New World Order. For either company to race past the other, it'll take an angle or feud of similar merit, prestige and eventual conclusiveness, which is thrilling to consider.
The following matches had all of the above with the exception of the latter, but were rare cases where it simply didn't matter...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
