Former NXT Superstar Claims WWE Would Change Shows Live To Compete With AEW

That's according to former NXT Superstar, Danny Burch. A guest on Cafe de Rene, Burch revealed that, while NXT was underway when it aired on Wednesdays, there would be two TVs set up in Gorilla so that those running the WWE show could keep an eye on what was happening over on Dynamite at the same time.

Not only were they keeping an eye, but Burch claims plans that were locked in for NXT would change in the moment based on what was happening in AEW, giving an example of when it happened to him. "Me and my tag partner [Oney Lorcan]. We were scheduled to have a 30-minute main event, and I was really excited about it," Burch explained.

"Then, because they were watching [Dynamite], and they heard that there was a women's match on first, they cut us to ten minutes, with entrances, and said, 'You guys are gonna go on first so we can steal the opening'." Burch added that whenever anyone from WWE claims that NXT and Dynamite weren't in direct competition with each other, whoever is making that claim is "full of it", as those running NXT were actively competing with Dynamite each week.

When Did This Specific Example Happen?

I am struggling to pinpoint when exactly this match happened. Burch notes that he and Lorcan were NXT Tag Team Champions at the time. The only time they opened a televised NXT show as champions was when they defeated Drake Maverick and Killian Dain during 2020's Christmas edition of the show on December 23.

The main event that night featured Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream. An incredible match that I can't imagine was ever considered for anything other than top billing. Perhaps it was being considered as the opener, although if that were the case, you'd think WWE would have left the running order as it was, since that match would pull viewers away from Dynamite.

There was an episode of Dynamite that night, but it didn't open with a women's match. It's possible that the start of each show didn't perfectly align, or Burch has gotten slightly mixed up, and his and Lorcan's tag match was moved to a different part of the show, as the December 23 edition of NXT wasn't the only time they competed as champions. I certainly believe his claims that people were watching Dynamite backstage and changing the NXT running order in the moment, I'm just unsure of when this happened.

Especially since this is the second time in a week that evidence suggesting WWE keeps an eye on what AEW is doing has emerged. Even though they no longer have shows on the same night, it's claimed WWE has employees whose job description involves them watching AEW programming and reporting back with their findings.