AEW Wins Ratings Battle over WWE NXT Behind Brian Cage vs. Jon Moxley Match

In the latest round of the Wednesday night wars, AEW came out ahead of NXT.

Per Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez, NXT's follow-up to the Great American Bash earned 631,000 viewers, while AEW's Fight for the Fallen generated 780,000 viewers. 

NXT has been riding a wave of momentum in the ratings. The two-week battle between Great American Bash and Fyter Fest was good news for both, with NXT winning in total viewers and AEW having the edge in the younger demographics. 

One advantage AEW had this week was a long-awaited championship match, with Jon Moxley defending the title against Brian Cage. The bout was originally supposed to be part of the Fyter Fest lineup, but it was delayed by seven days. 

Moxley retained the crown by locking Cage in an armbar, prompting Taz to throw in the towel. Darby Allin came in after the match to attack Cage, including hitting him in the throat with a skateboard. 

The show also featured Cody Rhodes defeating Sonny Kiss to keep the TNT championship in a match that was heavy on teases for a Four Horseman reunion with Tully Blanchard in the crowd. 

Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy appear to be building toward another match after Le Champion's victory last week. The Elite earned a win over Jurassic Express when Kenny Omega pinned Marko Stunt after a one-winged angel. 

NXT was headlined by Io Shirai retaining the women's championship against Tegan Nox after hitting a moonsault. Dakota Kai established herself as the likely challenger for the title by attacking Shirai as the show ended. 

Keith Lee opened the show with a promo after his monumental win over Adam Cole to become the first double-champion in NXT history. 

Lee made his first title defense, pinning Dominik Dijakovic with the Big Bang Catastrophe, but the celebration was brief after getting into a brawl with Karrion Kross that resulted in Limitless being laid out. 

Next week, NXT will feature Kross squaring off with Dijakovic, and Killian Dain is set to take on Dexter Lumis. AEW has announced six matches, headlined by the Young Bucks against The Butcher and The Blade in a falls count anywhere bout; and Jurassic Express will take on Jericho and Jake Hager. 

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).