WWE issues statement congratulating AEW on Dynamite premiere

Following the beginning of the “Wednesday Night War,” WWE issued a statement today congratulating AEW on the premiere of Dynamite.

The statement said: “Congratulations to AEW on a successful premiere. The real winners of last night’s head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a one-night sprint.”

AEW Dynamite premiered on TNT last night, while NXT aired on USA Network for its full two hours for the first time. The shows will go head-to-head on Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m. Eastern time going forward.

Last night’s NXT was slated for a 15-minute overrun and began with Adam Cole defending his NXT Championship against Matt Riddle in a match with no commercial breaks.

Ratings for both shows will be released later this afternoon. Dave Meltzer reported on AEW performing well in the early market ratings, with early NXT numbers not yet available.