AEW Vs NXT - The New Wrestling War

NXT TakeOver XXV was objectively another sensational offering from the developmental brand. Yet another expertly-produced smorgasmboard of high impact and high drama in equal measure, the event stuck to the five match formula that has serviced the brand so well and put forth another epic night of iron-sharpening Sports Entertainment.

Almost as joyous to behold as the shows themselves over the last few years has been the opportunity to see only the good of social media. Twitter - cesspit that it has latterly become - unified over gushing praise or occasionally reasoned criticism. Wrestling Twitter -often the scrapings from the bottom of said cesspit - now loaded with the joie de vivre of the countless gifts good pro wrestling can provide. The discussion, the discourse, the debate. For the fleeting hours during and following a TakeOver special, the darkest corner of the internet instead became utopia.

Then half of the occupants had their heads turned by the promise of something more.

Utopia was now a battleground, like the rest of Twitter. NXT wasn't judged on the quality of NXT but against Double Or Nothing the week before. Adam Cole's victory over Johnny Gargano (*****1/4) couldn't be good, because it wasn't as good as Dustin Vs Cody (*****). Who cares about Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho's main event (****1/4) when Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong are knocking out classics in the opener (****1/2)?

There's no Winter in wrestling's near future despite all those snowflakes. Dave Meltzer and his Wrestling Observer may not be your sh*t, but all of the wrestling over the fortnight absolutely was his, and he's seen just about all of the wrestling. Rich times should have been cause for rapturous celebration. Instead, the rapture came for the wrestling fans.

CONT'D...