Why John Cena, Cody Rhodes, WWE Stars Will Appear On ‘NXT’

WWE president Nick Khan boldly claimed in 2021 that everything was competition to WWE — even sleep — but it appears an old rivalry will be renewed next Tuesday.

AEW’s flagship show “Dynamite” will move to Tuesday next week due to the Major League Baseball playoffs broadcast on TBS. AEW went with the “Title Tuesday” name for the show to help promote it and make it a big deal since it was away from its usual Wednesday night slot.

That means AEW and WWE will go head-to-head for the first time since Oct. 18 last year when “Dynamite” and “NXT” air on the same night. Whether coincidentally or not, WWE announced John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Asuka and Paul Heyman will be on next week’s “NXT.” Those stars aren’t mainstays on the roster, and their inclusion was introduced on this week’s “NXT” episode, which led fans to surmise WWE wanted to make sure it got the viewers Tuesday night to block AEW.

Now, if you were to ask Shawn Michaels, who overseas creative at “NXT,” or chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, they might point out that WWE also will be competing with Game 3 of the American League Divison Series and opening night of the NHL regular season.

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But it’s hard not to put two and two together, especially after Adam Copeland, aka Edge, made his AEW debut last Sunday at the “WrestleDream” pay-per-view and is scheduled to make his “Dynamite” in-ring debut next Tuesday.

The last time the shows went head-to-head, “Dynamite” beat out “NXT” in total viewership and P18-49 viewership, but “NXT” reached a high in its P18-49 viewership, per Wrestlenomics.

There also might be an alternative angle for WWE. The company reached a new media rights deal for “SmackDown,” which will see the Friday show move from FOX to USA Network. A new deal has not been announced for “RAW” or “NXT,” and favorable viewership for “NXT” could help in negotiations, which is why Becky Lynch is the NXT women’s champion and Dominik Mysterio is the North American champion. (Both superstars typically appear on “RAW.”)

There will be a lot of channel surfing for pro wrestling fans next Tuesday, but it also could lead to amazing television, so it’s not a complete loss for the consumer.