AP Picture/Stephen B. Morton
AEW President Tony Khan insisted in a latest interview that his promotion and WWE are within the midst of a real wrestling conflict.
Throughout an look on The Dan Le Batard Show (h/t WrestlingInc’s Kieran Fisher), Khan mentioned the dynamic between AEW and WWE, and his perception that they’re continually battling for expertise, particularly these obtainable as free brokers:
“I solely know what individuals have come to me and alleged. However I do know it is an actual conflict between AEW and WWE, and the followers are considering it. And that was a part of the unique enterprise mannequin of AEW was I knew wrestling followers, frankly, are very considering wrestling free company and wrestling wars, and I imagine we may create a free-agent market that’s undoubtedly an actual factor now and that may be a giant a part of the story.”
Khan’s point out of allegations was seemingly in reference to a report from August after Triple H took the reins from Vince McMahon as the pinnacle of inventive for WWE.
On the time, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc’s Matthew Wilkinson) reported that WWE reached out to a number of contracted AEW wrestlers in an obvious try to gauge curiosity.
That reportedly led to AEW sending an e-mail to then-WWE co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan, warning them in opposition to contract tampering.
Given the reported backdoor dealings and the makes an attempt to one-up one another, Khan mentioned he believes AEW and WWE “really, really hate one another.”
WWE’s Uncooked and SmackDown have far outpaced AEW’s Dynamite and Rampage within the scores, significantly since Triple H took management of WWE’s inventive through the summer season. Nevertheless, the wrestling panorama is aggressive and profitable for performers, thanks largely to AEW’s presence.
With a reliable various in place, wrestlers can now check the waters and land vital contracts outdoors the confines of WWE.
A big portion of AEW’s roster is made up of former WWE Superstars, a lot of whom have been launched by WWE since AEW’s formation in 2019.
Conversely, WWE hasn’t introduced in lots of former AEW stars, with the plain exception being Cody Rhodes, who was one of many founders of AEW.
Rhodes shockingly returned to WWE practically one yr in the past at WrestleMania, and he has firmly established himself as one of many largest stars within the wrestling enterprise, successful the 2023 males’s Royal Rumble match to set the stage for an undisputed WWE Common Championship match in opposition to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in April.
Each WWE and AEW are having fun with main success in their very own methods, and so long as that continues, they may each probably be out there for most of the similar wrestlers who grow to be obtainable.
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