The Wednesday Night Wars

There can be no doubt that the high water mark for the professional wrestling industry of the last thirty years was the so-called “Monday Night Wars” of the late 1990’s. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of feuds from 1995 to 2001, but only one Meta-Feud. The extreme competition for eyeballs led to some of the greatest gimmicks, story lines and moments the business has ever seen. Those sweet, savage six years eventually birthed “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, DX, nWo, and so many more.

We are at the eve of another potential war that could easily reignite the passion and creativity that has been lying dormant for nearly twenty years.

Last month, AEW officially announced a deal with Turner Broadcasting that would put them in every American’s living room on Wednesday nights at 8PM. Reports have also surfaced that indicate WWE is reconsidering launching its highly regarded NXT brand with Fox Sports One. Recently, however, new rumors have come out that NXT may instead air on the USA network. Regardless of the station, reports are the NXT program will be a live 2-hour show.

There has also been speculation that Vince McMahon fully intends to put some of WWE’s top stars on the NXT program. This, of course, would be a spit in the face to every committed fan of NXT that has helped to build the brand into the most liked brand in the WWE Universe, despite its only exposure being the WWE Network (and occasional cameo’s on RAW and Smackdown). The best thing McMahon could do now is give Triple H enough rope to hang himself and see what he chooses to do with it. So far, Triple H has done wonders with what he started with. But at least WWE wouldn’t be able to claim later that they didn’t fight their hardest if they lose the Wednesday Night Wars.

AEW now has the means (thanks to Tony Kahn), motive (thanks to the passion of the Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega) and opportunity (thanks to Turner Broadcasting) to make a very hard charge to the number one spot in Sports Entertainment. So far, their sold out shows would indicate that there is a strong thirst for something new and different.

The reasons for WWE’s reconsideration are not entirely clear; but one thing is for sure: Fans of professional wrestling in general stand to be the real winners. If WWE does choose engage with AEW head on each Wednesday night at 8PM, we could be in for a real treat. It could very well be the best thing the WWE has done since the attitude era ended.