Why would AEW be designed to compete with the main roster shows? It has been always on Wednesday nights from the beginning - right where NXT is. Of course it's not designed to compete, otherwise you'd have to apply the same logic to Impact or NJPW Strong. AEW was not intended to compete head-on with WWE's main brands; rather, it was to offer an alternative to the WWE product - and they've said as such.
The fun part of both products is that the rosters are borne from the same crop of indie superstars that are making names for themselves. Switch up Finn Balor and Adam Cole for Adam Page and Kenny Omega and you've basically just subbed in members of the Bullet Club for the other promotion. AEW gets the nod for people with more indie buzz, but NXT gets the edge for original talent through the PC.
They basically both have the same profile of rosters on Wednesday nights. And generally follow the same trajectory for ups and downs together.
|