Why AEW Dynamite Is Better Than WCW Nitro

AEW Dynamite has always been about putting on great matches, sending fans into a frenzy, and showcasing a range of styles in the ring. Over the years, the majority of Dynamite episodes have featured one good match at bare minimum, whereas WCW Nitro cannot say the same. Many episodes featured very short squash matches, bouts with non finishes, and rushed main events.

The focus of Nitro was always more on storylines, brawls, and segments, rather than matches. However, when you consider that these shows are supposed to showcase the craft of professional wrestling, Dynamite has Nitro beaten in the match quality department… and it isn’t even close. It was often WCW’s cruiserweight division that carried the load in terms of match quality, whereas in AEW match quality can be found within every division.

Dynamite’s Consistency Is Second To None

AEW Dynamite Has Been The Most Consistent Pro Wrestling Show Ever

• AEW Dynamite has had some weak episodes here and there
• It has never had a show as bad as some Nitro shows
• Dynamite has been consistent on a weekly basis for six years straight 

Criticisms of AEW programming are warranted at times, especially since 2023, but when you compare the overall quality of Dynamite to shows such as RAW, SmackDown, Impact, and Nitro over the years, there is very little doubt that AEW’s weekly show has had more consistency than all the rest.

WCW Nitro had some absolutely unforgivably bad episodes, whereas the worst of Dynamite doesn’t come close to the worst of Nitro. Nitro’s weaker episodes came thanks to bad storytelling and baffling creative decisions, but Dynamite’s worst episodes have come due to not much happening and matches for the sake of matches, offering up different but less offensive negative points.

Tag Team & Women’s Divisions Have Been Infinitely Better

Across The Card, AEW Has More Depth

• Tag team wrestling in AEW has been a highlight
• Nitro failed to feature many women 
• Dynamite has featured a wider roster of talent 

WCW Nitro was loaded with big names in the main event scene, but when it comes to consistency across the card and in pretty much every division, Dynamite has it beaten. At times, WCW did showcase good tag teams, they of course had their marquee cruiserweight division, and big names were challenging for both United States and Television Titles, but it must be said that Dynamite has featured so many more talented individuals across every division.

The women’s division on Dynamite hasn’t always been perfect, but it has undoubtedly been better than the disaster of WCW’s attempt to create some semblance of a women’s division. On the tag team front, AEW’s tag team division has often been the best in the world, blowing WCW’s out of the water. The midcard divisions have been up and down, but the same can be said for WCW on Nitro too.

WCW Nitro Was Mired With Bad Booking

AEW Dynamite’s Poorer Moments Don’t Come Close To The Dark Days Of WCW

• WCW had some creative disasters
• Late day WCW is some of the worst wrestling ever 
• There was more overbooking in WCW

AEW Dynamite has featured some questionable booking and storylines since it began, namely The Death Riders angle , the mysterious masked Devil, the Cody-verse, and some others, but none of these come anywhere close to the disastrously bad levels of Nitro at times. Whether it be the overbearing presence of authority figures in Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, the overbooked mess that became the nWo (which in itself has countless examples of bad booking), or the several instances of Hulk Hogan exerting his creative control, Nitro featured some of wrestling’s worst ever segments, angles, and stories.

AEW Dynamite has held itself to a very high standard over the years, so there is often an overreaction from fans and critics when the shows are not perfect or storylines fail to hit the mark. It is impossible to claim that the lows of Dynamite come anywhere near the trenches that Nitro found itself in more than once.