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This week officially kicked off what fans are dubbing The Wednesday Night Wars, as NXT aired its first full, two-hour broadcast on USA Network, and All Elite Wrestling premiered Dynamite on TNT.
Given the online response to the Wednesday night batch of programming, fans are in for a wild Wednesday night ride as both WWE and AEW hit big home runs with their offerings of NXT and Dynamite.
It will be interesting to see how the two companies attempt to program, or possibly counter-program their shows, going forward, in order to establish direction and overall characteristics of NXT and AEW, with NXT attempting to establish itself as a legitimate third brand in WWE, while All Elite Wrestling attempts to establish itself as an alternative to WWE programming.
Given the above, let's take a look at five key takeaways from this week's episode of WWE NXT.
#5 Candice LeRae has arrived in WWE
WWE NXT star Candice LeRae has been a known commodity on the Wednesday night brand for quite some time, but her breakout, star-making performance came on NXT this week when she faced Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's title.
LeRae came up short in the bout, and lost her bid to win NXT gold, but she scored a major moral victory when she gave Baszler a fantastic Championship match and established LeRae as one of the top female talents on the NXT brand.
LeRae's performance on NXT this week drew a tremendous amount of praise from fans and pro wrestling pundits, and she drew the attention of current WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley, who currently has no match for this Sunday's WWE Hell in a Cell PPV. Following NXT, Bayley issued a challenge to LeRae for this Sunday, Tweeting the following.
#4 Adam Cole is a marked man
This week's episode of WWE NXT opened with an instant classic featuring current NXT Champion Adam Cole defending his title against Matt Riddle.
Both NXT stars shined in this lengthy opening match, with near falls aplenty and high drama leading up to the finish which saw Cole retain his title.
Following the bout, absent-from-TV main roster WWE star Finn Balor made his surprise return to NXT and it looks like he might become a permanent fixture on NXT going forward. Balor confronted Adam Cole which looks to be setting up a possible title match between the two at a later date, although nothing has been officially announced.
Later in the show, Tommaso Ciampa made his long-awaited return to WWE NXT, and also confronted Adam Cole, setting up a possible three-way situation between Cole, Balor, and Ciampa.
When Ciampa left WWE TV last year to undergo neck surgery, his return status was questionable, with his in-ring future very much in doubt given the seriousness of both his injury and surgery. It looks like Ciampa's return has silenced doubts regarding his future, and he looks to be in great shape and poised to return to the top in NXT.
#3 Finn Balor's arrival foreshadows the upcoming WWE roster draft
One of the most unlikely surprises on WWE NXT this week was the return of former NXT Champion Finn Balor, who made a name for himself in WWE on the Wednesday night brand before being called up to the main roster.
Balor has been off WWE TV since August when he lost a match to Bray Wyatt at WWE SummerSlam, and while fans were anticipating Balor's return to TV, no one expected he would be returning to NXT.
As WWE SmackDown prepares to make its big debut on FOX Sports this week, a WWE roster draft will be taking place on October 11th, and all talents in the company, including NXT talents, will be involved in the draft.
Balor's move to NXT foreshadows the possibility of other WWE main roster stars possibly moving to NXT in the upcoming draft, as WWE might need main roster star power on NXT in order to combat AEW on TNT.
Finn Balor has been a talent lacking direction on the main roster in recent months, and a return to NXT should give him renewed focus in WWE, which could be the case for other main roster stars in need of freshening up following the roster draft on October 11th.
#2 NXT has to leave Full Sail University
Since its debut on WWE Network, NXT has made its home at Full Sail University, holding TV tapings in Winter Park, FL and airing the taped shows weekly on the WWE Network.
Following the announcement that NXT would be going live for two hours each week on USA Network, WWE announced that there are no current plans to tape NXT outside of Full Sail University, with tapings at Full Sail announced throughout the remainder of 2019.
Compared to All Elite Wrestling, NXT feels very small and restrained at Full Sail University, with the show feeling more like a taped episode of Impact Wrestling from the old days at the Impact Zone in Orlando, FL.
Keeping NXT at Full Sail University would be unwise for WWE in the long run, as the show could benefit greatly from touring in the same way Raw and SmackDown tours the country and runs bigger venues.
In the past, NXT has had great success filling 10,000-15,000 seat venues, and with the show now airing on USA Network and going head-to-head with AEW, there is no reason why NXT should not be booking arenas similar in size to those being run by AEW.
#1 205 Live and NXT UK will help fill out two hours of NXT
WWE NXT boasts a great roster of talent, but with the show moving to two hours every week, it appears as if WWE is exploring news ways of filling out the show which used to run for one hour on a weekly basis.
One of the things WWE looks to be doing is integrating 205 Live and NXT UK talent into the NXT weekly broadcasts, with names such as NXT UK Champion WALTER establishing himself as a big presence on the NXT brand.
Additionally, it was announced on NXT this week that the WWE Cruiserweight Championship has been rebranded as the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, signaling that going forward the title will be contested on NXT in addition to 205 Live. A title match has been announced for next week's NXT, and it will feature Drew Gulak defending his gold against Lio Rush.
Following Finn Balor's return to NXT this week, he spoke with Newsweek about the return, furthering the idea that WWE will be integrating talents across all brands into the weekly NXT shows.
"I'm going to wrestle whenever, whoever I want," Bálor said. "That's something I've been chasing for quite some time in my career. I don't believe in any boundaries be it weight class, country, promotion...And I want to break those boundaries. I'm here at NXT to do that."
What did you think of NXT this week? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to follow SK on Twitter and Facebook!
