WWE has maintained that AEW is not considered competition but statements made about Tony Khan’s company seem to indicate otherwise.
Vince McMahon previously called AEW the “Blood and Guts” promotion due to blood shown on their broadcasts. In a recent statement sent to the Toronto Star, WWE categorized the 12/31 women’s tag team match on AEW Rampage as “self-mutilation.” The match featured Penelope Ford and The Bunny against Tay Conti and Anna Jay and it was the end of a long feud.
The WWE statement reads, “If you look at the gory self-mutilation that bloodied several women in the December 31 event on TNT, it quickly becomes clear that these are very different businesses. We had an edgier product in the `Attitude’ era and in a 2022 world, we don’t believe that type of dangerous and brutal display is appealing to network partners, sponsors, venues, children, or the general public as a whole.”
WWE has been previously accused of trying to hurt AEW’s standing for potential deals with sponsors. When Rampage fast national numbers first leaked a few months ago, it was pointed out that they were only leaked when the numbers dropped and were more favorable to SmackDown.
There were also allegations that WWE tried to get AEW in hot water with their sponsors after the Nick Gage vs. Chris Jericho match last July on AEW Dynamite.
AEW’s key demo numbers are strong and their flagship show, Dynamite, consistently outdrew WWE NXT when they were head-to-head on Wednesday nights. The executives at TNT/TBS are said to be very happy with the AEW numbers and so far there are no signs that their product has turned off their sponsors.
To be clear, the quote above is a WWE statement, not a comment from the reporter.https://t.co/k97KsH4GSt pic.twitter.com/p4rSVX07fS
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) January 15, 2022
WWE’s Vince McMahon made similar statements about Ted Turner’s WCW in the 90s:
https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1157132109900910592?s=21
