AEW Vs. NXT: Who Won The First Battle?
2. Viewer Retention
Dave Meltzer recently pointed out the difference in viewership habits between 2019 and the height of the Monday Night Wars.
Then, in an age of true megastars and rank-and-file - across two separate, competing companies - the segments oscillated wildly in number. Now, with a core audience fixed in place, in a company with a chronic inability to produce stars, the decline in viewership is steady and gradual, as the third hour of RAW, even in these recent months of better product, simply becomes too exhausting. You'd expect, with curiosity as rampant as the shows are stacked, that the same audience to which both shows are geared will flip between channels.
This is where NXT's 'blast processing' approach will benefit them, at least in the short term: the first hour of Dynamite waned as news of Bálor's shock return swept through social media. Chris Jericho's beat-down of Cody dragged, and the thin attempts to promote AEW's tag team division lacked spark and verve. In the meantime, Mauro, who does excel in this department, did a tremendous job of hyping up a crop of big title matches that were paced brilliantly across two hours.
WINNER: NXT
(AEW 4 - 3 NXT)