A rare legend guest appearance on WWE, former Edge’s ring debut on AEW and much more: things got heated in a big TV duel on Tuesday night.
It was the hottest TV duel in wrestling in a long time – and in the end, WWE even pulled one of their biggest icons out of their sleeves for it.
The Undertaker made a surprise guest appearance on Wednesday night’s broadcast of NXT, causing a final bang on Tuesday’s show. It was the final trump card the league pulled in a heated exchange with rival AEW, whose main show Dynamite was moved up a day.
WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite in hot duel
A broadcast of the MLB playoffs on US network TBS was the reason for the change, which saw NXT and Dynamite run in parallel for the first time since the end of the “Wednesday Night War” won by AEW in 2021.
That AEW attracts more viewers even under the current conditions is anything but self-evident; in addition to the unusual and, from experience, disadvantageous broadcast day, the current ratings high at WWE, which is also noticeable with the build-up squad NXT, speaks against it.
For logical reasons, both WWE and AEW had therefore loaded their shows with big star power and other effects – memories also of the legendary “Monday Night War” between WWE and WCW in the nineties were awakened.
While AEW enriched the special episode “Title Tuesday” with two title changes and the first AEW match of newly signed WWE legend Adam Copeland (Edge), NXT featured guest appearances by numerous main roster stars – Cody Rhodes, John Cena, LA Knight, Judgment Day, Asuka as well as Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa of the Bloodline.
Undertaker with rare WWE guest appearance
NXT featured a title defence by German-Russian champion Ilya Dragunov against Dominik Mysterio, among others. the show ended with a match between top talents Carmelo Hayes and Bron Breakker. Superstar Cena was in Hayes’ corner for the match, with Heyman representing Universal Champion Roman Reigns in Breakker’s.
Hayes was victorious when interference from Sikoa backfired, Breakker then angrily beat up rival Hayes and then provoked the crowd by announcing that he was the biggest “Bad Ass” in the league.
This claim then called out Taker, who has filed the patent on that title in his biker character “American Bad Ass”. The Hall of Famer, who retired from the ring in 2020, gave Breakker a chokeslam and informed him that there was still a bigger fish in the pond – and it was still him.
The 58-year-old Taker helped Hayes back to his feet, celebrated the big win with him and ennobled him with his mythical presence. It was the “Dead Man’s” first WWE appearance since the 30th anniversary of the show Monday Night RAW in January, when he came to the aid of the now tragically deceased Bray Wyatt.
Hikaru Shida and Orange Cassidy reclaim AEW titles
The AEW also saw a parallel flurry of action, with the Women’s Title changing hands, with Hikaru Shida taking it back from Saraya – the former Paige – and the International Title going back to cult star Orange Cassidy.
Cassidy had lost the belt in early September in his first pay-per-view main event to former AEW and WWE World Champion Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose), who had since passed it on to Mexican Rey Fenix.
The title change was spontaneous and unplanned because Moxley suffered a concussion in a match against Fenix. Dynamite was supposed to have the rematch, but Moxley still couldn’t get medical clearance for a comeback – Cassidy stepped in and won.
Adam Copeland (Edge) wins AEW debut match
Before the main match of the show, the feud between old partners, companions and friends Copeland and Christian Cage came to a head
Cage – who currently holds AEW’s TNT Title – gave a venomous speech explaining why he turned down Copeland’s offer of an Edge and Christian reunion last week, saying Copeland was mendacious, that he didn’t care for him when his career had – unfairly – taken off more than his. And now that he was in decline and Cage was coming to new heights, he was coming crawling back.
Cage linked his reckoning to an announcement that he would not only destroy Copeland in the ring at AEW, but also steal his wife Beth (Phoenix) away from him and become the new daddy to his two daughters.
Followed by Copeland defeating Cage’s right-hand man Luchasaurus, the show ended with a mass brawl that also saw former WWE Champ Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) and the Blackpool Combat Club and Mogul Embassy joined by Swerve Strickland – Danielson had earned the next title match against Cage by defeating Strickland in the show’s opener.