10 Tough Questions WWE Must Ask Itself In 2021
7. Should NXT Switch Nights?
... unless it's time for NXT to give up on the idea of "competition" altogether?
Spoiler: it is.
NXT hasn't outdone AEW Dynamite in the key 18-49 demographic since the week of 18 December 2019, when Dynamite hosted the Dark Order's universally despised beatdown of The Elite. The WWE property's overall viewership outdid AEW's on a handful of occasions throughout 2020, but this doesn't constitute "winning". The television industry ranks shows by P18-49, not viewership, and the reality is that NXT hasn't beaten Dynamite in the Wednesday Night Wars in over a year.
Dynamite outdid NXT by an average rating of 0.33 to 0.17 in Q4 2020. AEW is almost doubling the competition at this point. The war is over.
"Should NXT switch nights?" became a question when late summer saw both shows pre-empted due to clashes, leading to upturns in viewership and P18-49 for both. Vince McMahon and Triple H would answer "no, it shouldn't," because NXT's goal is to disrupt Dynamite and curb its growth. They likely believe that sacrificing their own product's numbers to take 20-30% off AEW's is worth it. But it is abundantly clear that NXT must go to a different night if it's ever going to thrive again, and with the TV contract up this fall, there's a chance USA may force WWE's hand.