"I'd love to have an unopposed audience" - AEW President Tony Khan on the possibility of NXT moving nights
Since the premiere of AEW Dynamite, AEW and WWE NXT have been competing in a ratings war on Wednesday nights. Many fans have compared it to the battle between WCW and WWE in the late 1990s. But with NXT's reported move to Tuesdays, the war might be ending. In a recent interview, AEW President Tony Khan explained why he'd be glad if that rumor is true.
For more than a year now, the supposed conflict between AEW Dynamite and NXT has divided the wrestling world. Fans have seen the two shows vie for supremacy, and the competition has pushed both companies to step up. Khan, who was widely viewed as the booker of the year last year, has carried Dynamite to new heights. As a result, against all odds, AEW has been winning the battle for some time now.
Ahead of this weekend's AEW Revolution pay-per-view, Tony Khan sat down with Alfred Konuwa of Forbes and discussed various topics. He touched on NXT's potential move to a different night, a shift that would leave AEW Dynamite as the last show standing.
“I don’t know if that’s a real thing or not, but it would be great to be unopposed, and I’d love to have an unopposed audience. When we have, we’ve done some really good numbers, and I think that would be awesome.”
AEW Dynamite has consistently recorded high numbers, and NXT has struggled to kkeep up. Plus, AEW is signed with TNT through 2023 while NXT's deal with NBC is comparatively unstable.
Since the buzzworthy ratings war began, NXT has only been able to top AEW Dynamite on a few occasions. AEW has regularly put on strong shows, and Dynamite even broke the threshold of one million viewers at one point.
Tony Khan compared the battle between AEW and NXT to the Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars were fairly similar to the conflict between AEW and NXT. In the late 1990s, wrestling in the United States was at its peak because a great number of viewers tuned in weekly. WWE and WCW aired their flagship shows at at the same time on Monday nights, and WWE ultimately won the ratings war in a decisive manner.
At the height of the battle, it polarized the wrestling world. AEW founder Tony Khan explained why this dynamic is beneficial, and he also stated that the Monday Night Wars echoed the conflict between NXT and AEW.
“I think it’s—like sports fans—it’s a healthy thing. I think there was maybe more of this [online bickering] during the Monday Night Wars on the internet than people might have realized."
If the reports regarding NXT's move to Tuesdays are true, AEW would cement its status as the premier wrestling show on Wednesday nights.