AEW Vs. NXT: Who Won The First Battle?
5. Promos
AEW did enough to produce a real success of a show that created an appetite for more - but this roster is the best collection of talkers amassed since 2001. To allocate barely adequate mic time to just one of its genius orators, MJF, was a misfire. His promo was solid, and he is never not entertaining, but it was hardly the fire of Fyter Fest. AEW squandered an advantage here because thus far, NXT had not entrusted its talent to sell a match.
Over on USA, the Velveteen Dream cut a very good promo, flanked by a harem of women in the best bluster of WWE staging, in which his indeterminate sexuality surfaced with a killer line: "I can handle more than one man at a time." Even then, it appeared to set up a rematch between Dream and Roderick Strong, which feels like a well-worn combination at this point.
AEW's failure to capitalise on its superb promo cutters was tempered by the format to which we were shown the briefest glimpse.
In a more natural setting that should allow for two vital minutes of staring down the lens, unscripted, Tony Schiavone interviewed SCU by the entrance ramp in vintage WCW style.
The promise is there, but it wasn't delivered upon.
WINNER: NXT
(AEW 1 - 2 NXT)