AEW Vs. NXT: Who Won The First Battle?
6. Match Quality
The two best matches on the respective shows reflected the core appeal of each promotion.
Matt Riddle Vs. Adam Cole was a blistering, hugely impressive feat of stamina, precision, content and drama. NXT, to counter-programme AEW, took the 'Clockwork Orange' route to grabbing the attention of the audience. They prised your eyes open with a million mph PWG-style match that absolutely slapped. The action was so tremendous that it barely mattered how little it sold or registered itself. The epic layering and nuance of a TakeOver match can wait; this was a TV sprint that worked to showcase Cole's desperate cunning.
Nyla Rose Vs. Riho was an entirely different but almost equally captivating match, in which the bugs were features that put over Riho's resolve more than they distracted from the action. This didn't rush by; it built expertly. In the opening phase, Riho's strikes were so ineffectual that she landed on Rose's back like a fly. By the finish, the forearms with which she bludgeoned her larger opponent were powered by pure babyface fire and the real, deep emotion of the crowd.
Cody and Shayna Baszler entered two very different but effective ring general performances; PAC as a heel sought to antagonise, where Johnny Gargano ramped up the excitement in two different performances of excellent craft necessary to the respective character arcs; the Street Profits Vs. Undisputed Era main event was an improvement on a rougher TakeOver: Toronto match, with a scintillating finish that put the latter over but got the former over.
But, since AEW intentionally compromised the match quality of its main event for an angle...
WINNER: NXT
(AEW 1 - 1 NXT)