Bryan Danielson Reflects on AEW's Memorable Clash with WWE Last Year

In early October 2023, AEW Dynamite made a strategic shift to Tuesdays, setting the stage for a direct clash with WWE NXT on what was dubbed "Title Tuesday." This pivotal night marked Adam Copeland's (known as Edge in WWE) first match in AEW, while NXT counteracted with high-profile appearances from wrestling icons like The Undertaker, Asuka, Cody Rhodes, and John Cena.

During a discussion with Justin Barrasso at the "SXSW" pro wrestling panel, AEW star Bryan Danielson reflected on that momentous Tuesday. Danielson shared, "I think everybody in the company was really proud of that show that we did. In my mind — and this is probably a little bit different from the way Tony [Khan] views it, from like a business perspective — I don't necessarily look at what the competitors are doing (on that particular night). I wasn't worried about it."

Danielson, a former WWE Champion, emphasized the importance of AEW concentrating on its own growth and quality, rather than the actions of other wrestling promotions. "Let's put on our best possible show and not worry about necessarily what's going on on a different channel because realistically it's not just that particular Tuesday night when we were moving nights."

He further explained that AEW's competition extends beyond wrestling to include sports, TV shows, and the distractions of smartphones. Danielson reiterated his belief in the power of quality wrestling, stating, "How do you keep people's attention? In my mind, it keeps going back to this idea of quality, and something I said when I first joined AEW is that: if you put on excellent professional wrestling, people will enjoy it, and so that's kind of the goal — to put out an excellent professional wrestling show."

Despite the anticipation, NXT outperformed AEW Dynamite in viewership during their head-to-head matchup, with WWE's brand attracting 921,000 viewers compared to Dynamite's 609,000.

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— Ben Jordan Kerin Mar 25, 2024 12:09PM