The Wednesday Night Wars were a period of mainstream televised American
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
in which
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE.
AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
(AEW)'s ''
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
'' debuted on
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
opposite
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
's ''
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
'' on the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
in a competition for
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
each week.
The ratings war lasted from October 2, 2019, to April 7, 2021.
This was the first direct competition between two major promotions since
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA, now Impact Wrestling), briefly moved their flagship series, ''
Impact!'',
to Monday nights opposite ''
WWE Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...
'' in 2010, and over 20 years following the original
Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''Monday Night Raw'' (later ''Raw I ...
that lasted from 1995 to 2001.
AEW would win the ratings battle almost every week in both total viewership and in the viewership from thr key 18–49 age demographic, and on April 13, 2021, ''NXT'' moved to Tuesday nights, ending the Wednesday Night Wars, although both AEW and NXT aired on October 18, 2022, due to TBS' coverage of the
2022 American League Championship Series
The 2022 American League Championship Series was the best-of-seven playoff between the two American League Division Series winners, the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees, for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 20 ...
.
History
Origins
2000s–2010s: Post-Monday Night Wars
After the "
Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''Monday Night Raw'' (later ''Raw I ...
", with the bankruptcy and subsequent acquisitions of both
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
(WCW) and
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW),
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
became the dominant professional wrestling company in the United States. In 2008, WWE began to take a
family-oriented approach, in which all of its programming received a rating of
TV-PG
The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the federal communication commission (FCC), and went ...
.
In 2010,
Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
, then known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which targets an adult audience, would
move their flagship, weekly series, ''
Impact!'', to Monday nights on
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
opposite ''Raw'' from January to May 2010. ''Impact'' suffered from low ratings and ultimately returned to their regular Thursday night timeslot on May 13, 2010.
The move itself was panned by critics and viewers. In the tenth anniversary reprint of
R.D. Reynolds
Randy Baer (born January 12, 1969), better known by his ring and pen name RD (Real Deal) Reynolds, is a former American professional wrestling manager and is also the co-creator of the professional wrestling website WrestleCrap, with Merle Vincen ...
and
Bryan Alvarez
Bryan Alvarez (born June 12, 1975) is an American professional wrestler, martial artist, satellite radio host, podcaster, and journalist. Alvarez is the editor and publisher of ''Figure Four Weekly'', a newsletter that has covered professi ...
's ''Death of WCW'', the authors compared the move to the original Monday Night Wars, writing that TNA did not have the audience that WCW did, pointing out that ''
WCW Saturday Night
''WCW Saturday Night'' is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarna ...
'' typically did better than WWE shows did in the weekend timeslots. Reynolds and Alvarez also wrote that TNA did not have the financial resources that WCW did.
2012: ''NXT's'' revamp
![Triple H November 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Triple_H_November_2017.jpg)
In 2012, ''
WWE NXT
''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currently ...
'' was revamped to focus exclusively on its developmental talent, with
FCW
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(WWE's former developmental territory) being relaunched under the
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
brand.
NXT became a
webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
on WWE's official website, before later airing on
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
and the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
.
During this period
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
took charge of NXT.
In the years since the revamp, NXT garnered critical acclaim for its more grounded storylines and sports-based presentation compared to WWE's
"main roster" programming,
with fans and pundits eventually viewing the brand as its own distinct entity and its
TakeOver
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...
specials to be superior in quality to WWE's
monthly
Monthly usually refers to the scheduling of something every month. It may also refer to:
* ''The Monthly''
* ''Monthly Magazine''
* ''Monthly Review''
* ''PQ Monthly''
* ''Home Monthly''
* ''Trader Monthly''
* ''Overland Monthly''
* Menstruation, s ...
pay-per-views.
2018–2019: The formation of All Elite Wrestling
175px, AEW co-owner/President/CEO ">Tony Khan
On January 10, 2018,
Cody Rhodes
Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
and
The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
, members of the stable known as
The Elite, announced an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
event called
All In, which was scheduled for September 1 of that year at the
Sears Centre Arena
The Now Arena (originally known as the Sears Centre, Sears Centre Arena and stylized as NOW Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb from Chicago, near land which formerly contained the Poplar Creek Music ...
in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a village in Illinois, United States. The village is located primarily in Cook County, with a small section in Kane County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 52,530.
The village now serves a ...
. Tickets for the event went on sale on May 13, and sold out in less than 30 minutes. The event was attended by 11,263 people, making it the first event in North America not held by WWE or WCW to sell 10,000 tickets or more since 1993. Four months after All In, Cody and The Young Bucks left
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
and
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
and announced plans to start a new wrestling promotion. The promotion, which became known as
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE.
AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...
(AEW), began operations on January 1, 2019, and announced that its first event,
Double or Nothing
Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...
, would be held on May 25 of that year.
Ten days before Double or Nothing was held, AEW reached a deal with
WarnerMedia
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
to broadcast a weekly show on
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
, which would later become known as ''
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
''.
On July 24, 2019, AEW announced that ''Dynamite'' premiered on Wednesday, October 2 and was broadcast live every week. The premiere of ''Dynamite'' marked the return of professional wrestling to a Warner-owned network after TNT broadcast the final episode of ''
WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
'' on March 26, 2001. AEW has been described as "the first major promotion to compete financially with WWE since the closure of WCW".
2019: ''NXT's'' move to USA Network
In August 2019, it was announced that ''NXT'' would be moving to
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
, marking the show's first broadcast on the network since December 20, 2017, and expanding the program to a live, two-hour format.
Critics felt that the move was an attempt to
counterprogram ''Dynamite'', which would premiere two weeks later. ''NXT'' premiered on USA on September 18, 2019.
However, due to scheduling overlap with the final episodes of original series ''
Suits'', only the first hour of ''NXT'' was broadcast on USA for its first two weeks while the second hour was shown on
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
. In its first two weeks, ''NXT'' drew 1.179 and 1.006 million viewers respectively.
Wednesday Night Wars
2019: The debut of ''Dynamite''
On October 2, 2019, ''
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
'' debuted on TNT, which averaged 1.409 million viewers. ''NXT'' made their full two-hour debut on USA Network on the same night, which averaged 891,000 viewers.
''Dynamite'' beat ''NXT'' in the ratings among both viewers in the 18–49 range and total viewers for its first seven episodes. ''NXT'' began to gain ground when WWE announced that the brand's wrestlers would compete at that year's
Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...
, officially endorsing NXT as WWE's "third brand". Competitors from the ''NXT'' brand went on to win three of the five triple-threat matches at the pay-per-view, which saw
NXT Women's Champion
The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...
Shayna Baszler
Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and longest ...
defeat
Raw Women's Champion
The WWE Raw Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two women's world titles for WWE's main roster, along wi ...
Becky Lynch
Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and ...
and
SmackDown Women's Champion
The WWE SmackDown Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championship, world championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion ...
Bayley in the main event. These developments helped ''NXT'' to place first in the ratings for three out of the six remaining weeks of 2019, which culminated in a match where
Rhea Ripley
Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is a member of The Judgme ...
defeated Shayna Baszler to win the women's championship on the December 18 episode. ''NXT'' ran unopposed on December 25, the final Wednesday of 2019, as ''Dynamite'' did not air due to
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
.
2020: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Both ''NXT'' and ''Dynamite'' began broadcasting empty arena shows in March 2020 as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Both shows stopped touring and started broadcasting from fixed venues. ''NXT'' was broadcast initially from Full Sail University and later, from October 2020, the
WWE Performance Center
The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...
. ''Dynamite'' was initially held at
Daily's Place
Daily's Place is an amphitheater in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The venue is connected to the south end of TIAA Bank Field and shares space with a "flex field" indoor practice facility for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It opened in May 2017 and ...
, an amphitheater adjacent to
TIAA Bank Field
TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...
. AEW later taped shows at the Nightmare Factory training facility in
Norcross, Georgia
Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area.
History
...
, in late March and early April, taping up to six weeks of episodes preparing for that year's
Double or Nothing
Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...
pay-per-view. As live sports were allowed to resume in the Jacksonville area by early May, AEW returned to Daily's Place, which became AEW's home base for over a year.
2021: ''NXT'' moves to Tuesday and end of the Wednesday Night Wars
On March 30, 2021, it was reported that ''NXT'' would move to Tuesday nights on April 13, 2021. In January, USA Network's parent company,
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
, announced it would shut down
NBC Sports Network
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
by the end of the year, with certain sport programming rights moving to USA and streaming service
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
. WWE confirmed the move to Tuesdays as part of a multi-year renewal agreement. The move to Tuesday nights brought an end to the Wednesday Night Wars.
Following the end of the Wednesday Night Wars, both programs benefitted in the Nielsen ratings without the direct competition. ''NXT's'' April 13 episode averaged 805,000 viewers with a 0.22 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This viewership number was an increase from the 768,000 viewers who tuned into night one of the NXT special
NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver the previous Wednesday. The next day, ''Dynamite'' drew over 1.219 million viewers to TNT, up 77% from the prior week. This was ''Dynamite's'' best viewership number since its debut episode on October 2, 2019. AEW also placed 2nd that evening in the Cable Top 150 with a 0.44 rating in the 18-49 demographic, their best key demographic rating since the October 23, 2019 episode of ''Dynamite''.
Comparisons between ''NXT'' and ''Dynamite''
Viewership
Key demographic (18-49)
See also
*
History of professional wrestling
The history of professional wrestling, as a performing art, started in the early 20th century, with predecessors in funfair and variety strongman and wrestling performances (which often involved match fixing) in the 19th century.
Professional wr ...
*
History of WWE
The history of WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded in 1953 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). It underwent several name changes throughout the years, from CWC to World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963 to World Wres ...
*
List of AEW Dynamite special episodes
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of WWE NXT special episodes
This is a list of ''WWE NXT'' special episodes, detailing all professional wrestling television special cards promoted on ''NXT'' by WWE.
Special episodes
See also
*List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events
*Wednesday Night Wars
Th ...
Notes
References
{{WWE
2010s in American television
All Elite Wrestling
History of professional wrestling
Mass media rivalries
WWE NXT
History of WWE
2020s in professional wrestling
2010s in professional wrestling
2020s in American television