It all begins tonight. The moment in modern wrestling history that many thought may not happen again: a wrestling war on broadcast television.
Wednesday, October 2nd 2019 may be a night that many fans remember for a long time to come. All Elite Wrestling’s “Dynamite” premieres on TNT (TSN2 in Canada), going head-to-head with WWE’s NXT (yet to receive a Wednesday night Canadian broadcast deal) as it airs on the USA Network for it’s entire two hours.
Tonight Professional Wrestling returns to @tntdrama #AEWDynamite 8/7c@AEWrestling #Real #Different pic.twitter.com/x7f6iVG8zR
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) October 2, 2019
Today is the day! Before we go live tonight at 8pm ET on @USA_Network, members of the media get a tour of @WWEPC. #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/qrmDL1jH8B
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) October 2, 2019
The biggest (and perhaps most intriguing) factor with this tonight is that there is still a lot more left unknown. On the AEW side, there have been reports that the promotion is going to roll ahead without regular writers and bookers, and instead will rely on the creativity and sensibilities of the talent.
While when it comes to this new iteration of NXT, there seems to have been equal parts of excitement and concern from the dedicated fanbase. Though they will be getting more of what they perceive as the best thing going in WWE, the extended time might spoil what kept the product fresh and unique in the first place. But of more concern– and quite frankly might be closer to either outright fear or unbridled anger– is that with the brighter national spotlight on the smaller, more intimate, indie-adjacent show, Vince McMahon will have his fingers all over the pulse of the baby that Triple H has raised and nurtured up until this point.
And yet… with all the speculation, anticipation, — and, well, anxiety– there is still so much left to be seen. Will this be a real war, and will AEW do something that Ring of Honor or TNA/iMPACT Wrestling could never do and push WWE harder than they’ve been pushed since the 90s?
Wait and see, that’s all we can do. Enjoy all the wrestling, fans.