Tony Khan explains why AEW has been taking shots at WWE on television

During an interview with Ariel Helwani, AEW President Tony Khan explained why AEW has been taking shots at WWE on television…

“I’ve said it before, I consider all wrestling as competition. Some people ask me why I’ll talk about other wrestling companies, especially WWE, and I’ll tell you. It was literally a book handed to me over three years ago before the launch of [AEW] Dynamite by Warner Media at the time before it was Warner Bros. Discovery. It was telling me what our place [was] already because Dynamite hadn’t launched, but we had carved out a space in the Pay Per View business.”

“They handed me a book. It was [about] how to be a challenger brand. This is what you are. A challenger brand I learned then, three years ago, is not the industry leader, but it is also not a niche brand. It is not that. It is a big company. It is Pepsi [to Coca-Cola.] It is Burger King [to McDonald’s.] What is Burger King marketing? Basically a lot of it is ‘hey McDonald’s sucks guys.’”

“So for AEW, it’s just part of what we are. We’re a challenger brand. There’s no reason to pretend we’re not. That’s what you are. Embrace it. So it is literally a corporate philosophy handed down on high to me by my boss [Warner Bros. Discovery.]” (quotes courtesy of SEScoops.com)