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Why do you watch NXT or AEW? What influences why you favor one show over the other on Wednesday nights? Or do you watch both, and what compels you stay with a show or flip to the other? Tell us about your Wednesday night viewing experience. The following are a few responses from readers sent this week…
Send your story on this topic to pwtorch@pwtorch.com.
•PWTorch reader Robert Driver writes…
The reason is simple. I watch AEW on Wednesday night. I do this because I have WWE Network and can watch NXT later on when I want. NXT isn’t nearly as good as it used to be, to me. There are a few good ones there, but generally it’s “Meh. Whatever.” AEW also is so much better than Raw or Smackdown and NXT to me.
•PWTorch reader Mike Egler writes…
I watch AEW exclusively at this point. The bell-to-bell wrestling in NXT is cleaner, but I haven’t been able to get invested in anything NXT has done all year. I was a Day 1 WWE Network subscriber. I’ve been conditioned over the years to know it’s a total waste of emotional energy to get too attached to any favorites on the NXT roster, and as such the show actually puts me to sleep despite the excellent in-ring work and vastly superior women’s roster. I work full time and life is short so I need to be selective with what I spend my time watching.
•PWTorch reader Bruce Lee of Seattle, Wash. writes…
I watch both Dynamite and NXT, but the next day as I am unable to watch it live. I always start with AEW partly because it is still new, but also because there is usually at least one or two things that make me go, “Really?” NXT is always a solid show top to bottom, even if some of the matches feature talents who are still developing. Very rarely do I have the same reaction I do with AEW (and Raw and Smackdown). I also think this is due to NXT having the better part of this decade to build credibility and loyalty as well as signing many talents. I remain optimistic for AEW, but they need to work on their women’s division and have less of the overtly comedic segments.
•PWTorch reader Ninos Hanna writes…
My family (wife and two kids) exclusively watch AEW. It has re-sparked our interest in wrestling.
•PWTorch.com contributor Frank Peteani writes…
My Wednesday night viewing depends on a few factors, one of which being my work schedule. I’m generally off on Wednesdays, but sometimes I have to work in order to take weekends off or if I’m trying to make extra money. With that being said, as much as I love NXT, I prioritize AEW. As a PWTorch.com contributor writing the Raw and Smackdown primers on a weekly basis, I am required to watch those shows. I would not be serving the readers if I wrote previews for shows I didn’t watch. Believe me, WWE has been pushing me to the brink lately of wanting to check out on them at least with Raw and Smackdown. That said, having to watch five hours of WWE programming per week, I look forward to something different in AEW. Now look, I’m not going to sit here and wax poetic about their product. It has its issues coming out of the gate. Let’s not love them unconditionally. The issues, though, are ones I don’t mind discussing, and I think they’ll work through them in a positive way.
Logistics also play a factor. I know that NXT will be loaded onto the WWE Network by Thursday night/Friday morning. If I’m working an overnight trip over the upcoming weekend, and I can’t get to NXT after watching AEW, I know I can catch the show on my downtime in the hotel (or at the bar having dinner and drinks). Where it becomes different is if I’m participating in “PWT Talks NXT.” If so, obviously I prioritize watching NXT and figure out how to catch AEW over the next few days. There are enough ways to watch either on demand on the Fios app or TNT, etc. In my heart, though, overall, I look forward to AEW. We finally have a second American promotion that seems to have a future and I’m excited to see how things develop in the early going for this fresh and exciting product.
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