Opinion
Mitchell’s Wednesday Night War Phase 3 Review!
Wednesday Night War finishes Phase 3!
The Wednesday Night War’s third phase closes in epic fashion!
As 2020 ran into a dark stretch of modern history, the world of pro-wrestling worked to give us all a bright light! How did WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite persevere for the sake of their fans?
First, a look back at the previous phases!
In Phase 1 of this “war,” AEW did incredibly well for the new promotion on the block, but NXT earned its spot as WWE’s third brand.
PHASE 1 SCORE GRAPH

PHASE 1 FINAL SCORES: NXT – 9.11; AEW – 9.08
The race was neck and neck but NXT pulled out the win because they were building into Survivor Series and establishing itself on par with Raw and SmackDown.
In Phase 2, the holiday episodes were exempt as AEW didn’t have any because they took the holidays off. NXT was recaps and awards anyway, so it wasn’t of much consequence, anyway. Then things were very different as AEW started hitting harder for the sake of AEW Revolution.
PHASE 2 SCORE GRAPH

PHASE 2 FINAL SCORES: NXT – 9.01; AEW – 9.22
TOTAL PHASE 1 & 2 SCORES: NXT – 9.06; AEW – 9.15
On a phase-to-phase level, NXT and AEW are tied at one apiece, but AEW has the overall lead. That March 18th episode of NXT was WWE dealing with COVID in their own way, using the entire night to hype up #OneFinalBeat and everything else they had to eventually roll out as weekly episodes, not as TakeOver: Tamba Bay.
Now I do need to apologize for not holding to what I said would be Phase 3 with July 1st. But then BOTH companies gave us their own two week mid-summer events! Yes, NXT bringing back The Great American Bash was counter programming, but if Triple H is to be believed, everything was going to happen the way it did regardless. Plus, adding one more week to Phase 3 isn’t that big of a deal, it just means Phase 4 starts this week with the 15th.
PHASE 3 SCORE GRAPH

PHASE 3 FINAL SCORES: NXT – 9.21; AEW – 9.26
TOTAL PHASE 1, 2 & 3 SCORES: NXT – 9.1; AEW – 9.19
Phase 3 Analysis
Wow, those are pretty big numbers. And AEW has another phase win, as well as the overall lead! Both did great in the last two weeks with Fyter Fest and Great American Bash, but clearly the Double or Nothing build for AEW was big while that one episode on June 10th kinda cost NXT the numbers. That was the TakeOver: In Your House aftermath episode so there were more recaps and interviews than usual while AEW just kept powering through as they brought the TNT Championship to TV, giving us great matches multiple weeks in a row, laying the groundwork for the Fyter Fest two-night special we got. Also, Jericho on commentary was an ace in the hole for AEW, what about that wasn’t awesome?
Phase 3 Conclusions
The creative energy in AEW is pretty fresh and that makes for a lot of the excitement still behind them. The Stadium Stampede and the previous Falls Count Anywhere tag were just amazing matches for all the ideas they had, but they’ve also had weird things. For example, while AEW says wins and losses matter, they gave us quite a lot of #1 contender gimmick matches, like the Casino Ladder Royale and a normal battle royal. Of course, that is what happens when a lot of wrestlers end up more or less 50-50 booked. Just saying. But that’s part of the apparent principle that as long as they thrill us, much can be forgiven.
As for NXT, they had to adjust a few times. WrestleMania gave us Charlotte Flair’s return, she had a good stretch but her own personal circumstances would eventually have her back out of NXT. That’s fine because now the Evil Genius reigns and everyone is so happy for her to finally have a title she probably should’ve had a year or more ago. NXT giving us their own double champion in Keith Lee is a great move to move into the next part of the year, and there might be a lot more new changes depending on what The Undisputed Era does next.
Phase 4 Preview
Don’t count NXT out in this first year of the Wednesday Night War. Their ratings have actually still done well and even beaten AEW on occasion. This phase goes from this week, July 15th, until October 7th, which will basically be the AEW Dynamite one year anniversary episode. Unless they promote September 30th as that. Either way, it’s basically another three month stretch. There’s a good chance with TakeOver: No Longer Boston coming that NXT will turn it up again, and AEW is even opening this phase strong with Fight for the Fallen with the AEW World Championship match of Moxley VS Cage.
I said this three months ago that I hoped the pandemic would lessen but things are still unpredictable. Politics might try to tear us apart, but let’s stick together as wrestling fans who instead fight over this stuff.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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