WWE has scheduled two separate broadcasts—NXT Heatwave and AAA Ola De Calor—on the exact same day as AEW’s All In 2026 at Wembley Stadium. Despite the potential head-to-head conflict, industry analyst Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer believes the move will have little to no measurable impact on AEW’s pay-per-view performance or live gate.
Instead, Meltzer argues that WWE’s strategy primarily protects its main-roster stars while leaving developmental and partner talent to face a difficult ratings environment.
Minimal Impact Projected On All In
While counterprogramming usually aims to split audience attention, Meltzer estimated that the competing shows will barely affect AEW’s bottom line, projecting a negligible difference in pay-per-view buys:
- “Whatever the mentality is, I don’t think it’s going to hurt. I don’t think it’s going to make a 5,000-buy difference, and 5,000 may even be liberal. It might be 1,000. It’s going to make no difference whatsoever to the live crowd. It’s not going to make any difference to the pay-per-view, and they’re not going to have a better show.”
Main Roster Protection & Talent Placement
According to Meltzer, WWE deliberately refrained from scheduling top-tier Raw or SmackDown talent directly opposite AEW’s signature event to avoid unfavorable direct comparisons. Consequently, he noted that the burden falls on NXT and AAA performers:
- “It’s a bad look in so many ways. I mean, it’s smart that they don’t put their main roster against it because you don’t want your main roster looking bad. The AAA guys are the sacrificial lambs, and the NXT guys are the sacrificial lambs. I get the mentality for what they’re doing, but they’re going out there and being sacrificed.”
Difficult Time Slot Challenges
In addition to competing against Wembley Stadium’s lineup, Meltzer highlighted that the scheduling places NXT in an inherently tough television window—a Sunday afternoon broadcast from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET on The CW:
- “They’re putting that on at three in the afternoon. Even if there was no All In at all and they did that show on The CW from three to six on a Sunday afternoon, that rating would be terrible without AEW competition.”
While a later tape-delayed replay may draw stronger viewing numbers, Meltzer maintains that the initial live metrics could leave NXT and AAA talent absorbing the brunt of low viewership figures while AEW dominates the weekend’s wrestling discourse.
For live event reporting, ratings updates, and full pay-per-view coverage, stay tuned to WrestlingAttitude.com.
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