Contrasting NXT and AEW

It looks like Finn Balor will begin a rivalry in place of the one he was supposed to have with Johnny Gargano until Gargano’s injury heals. This was very much expected, and the rivalry will be with Matt Riddle. Riddle will be taken out of the WarGames match at Takeover and be replaced by Dominick Dijakovic. The feud between Gargano and Balor is still expected to happen; it’s just been delayed a little.

Congratulations to Isaiah Scott for picking up a victory over Bronson Reed. I love what “Swerve” brings to the table, but I was anticipating that Reed would pick up his second straight victory. This is a prime example of one of WWE’s issues (and the sports entertainment industry at large) that they constantly face. Every superstar now receives 50/50 booking because fans are so quick to turn on any superstar who received any hint of a major push.

You don’t believe me; look at Kofi Kingston, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns being the most extreme examples. I’m not even sure if superstars like The Rock or Steve Austin would be able to get over – they probably would, just not super easily in today’s era. My theory on this is that it is directly caused by the short attention span that millennials have. A great deal of this, although not all of it, can be attributed to the advent of social media.

The Cruiserweight Championship match delivered precisely what the WWE universe anticipated. It was a highflying, incredible match in which the champion Lio Rush, who appears to have found his niche in WWE, walked out on top. Angel Garza gave a great showing, but he’s simply not quite ready for a title.

Side Note: I don’t see Aliyah getting over in WWE so long as Carmella is with the company simply because they look too much alike.