Hot Take: WWE Will Benefit in Long Run by Moving NXT to Tuesday to End AEW War

Sometimes it's a smart idea to raise the white flag and regroup.

It was almost impossible to see this idea fit WWE in the face of new competition—yet here we are.

WWE's attempts to thwart All Elite Wrestling's rise were misguided from the start, with the company shifting NXT to Wednesday nights and initially trying to play it off as not related to the new competition. Once ratings seemed closer than most might have expected, WWE personnel seemingly started to shift the goalposts to a "competition is good for the industry" angle.

And make no mistake—competition is good. But NXT sitting on Wednesday nights is hurting NXT. 

That might, at least in part, explain why WWE might entertain moving NXT to Tuesday nights. According to Fightful (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), USA Network is behind the idea of the shift.

And that's probably for the best because, to be blunt, WWE has been getting whipped in the new-era ratings war on Wednesday nights. AEW's audience has proved to be loyal, even in the crowd-less era and against the NBA playoffs and any number of other events.

What makes this so disappointing for WWE fans, and arguably wrestling as a whole, is that NXT has been doing some amazing things. Keith Lee's run was incredible. Finn Balor is there. Top female stars, from the main roster or otherwise, headlined the show. It goes on and on and on.

Yet everything NXT has done since shifting to Wednesdays against AEW has felt like it had the spectre of a ratings grab hanging over it. Sasha Banks going down there and putting on classics, for example, should have been special. And it was, partially, but it was also easy to wonder whether it would ever happen had AEW not occupied a television spot on the same night.

Maybe that's unfair. It probably is—at the end of the day, WWE just wants the best show possible for performers and fans. But positioning NXT right in a ratings war didn't help the perception. Like endlessly pushing a good-guy Roman Reigns at fans for years and years, much of it just started to not feel organic.

This, partially, has to play a role in ratings dipping. World circumstances and even AEW eating into some of the audience play a role too. So does sheer product oversaturation. But NXT feeling like it's just trying to shove aside another promotion doesn't help matters.

Maybe that's part of the reason USA Network is reportedly behind the idea of a shift to Tuesday nights. Doing so will immediately remove any idea that what WWE is doing on the programming is simply a ploy to best the competition on the same night.

And in the same turn, that means NXT can get back to just feeling like NXT. With a simple shift, a fan-favorite show immediately dominates its own night again, no questions asked.

While the internet might alight with chatter about AEW "winning the Wednesday night war," the reality is, who cares? AEW Superstars will surely even take a few shots at doing so too, perhaps even dedicating a whole segment to it (hi, Chris Jericho and the bubbly).

And again, who cares? WWE took its shot and missed. Own it and move on. There are already hints on the main roster that the company is more than willing to do the unexpected to keep fans happy during these odd times. Reigns headlining the entire company as a bad guy in 2020 is a perfect example.

Maybe moving NXT to a different night, admitting a mistake through that action and letting NXT thrive as a unique product not involved in a ratings war is the next step.

Who complains if the promotion goes through with the idea, besides those obsessively circling items on ratings charts?

Wrestling as a whole wins if NXT moves. The competition is still there, and both companies will still push one another. But the brand gets to be itself free from the perception of being a ratings-grab spectacle. That's good for the Superstars and better for the industry as a whole.