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When AEW first debuted in May 2019, it was considered one of the most crucial moments of the modern era of professional wrestling. It was refreshing to see a product different from WWE. The promotion's arrival brought new life to the wrestling industry.
After a long time, people got a chance to see a mainstream wrestling promotion that could go toe to toe with wrestling's juggernaut, WWE.
So far, the battle of being the No. 1 promotion between the two has been far from being a healthy competition. Apart from the constant comparisons, the war of words between the top officials of both WWE and AEW has also been quite interesting.
From Triple H calling AEW an inferior company to Tony Khan taking shots at his rivals multiple times on his show, there have been numerous instances when the two sides have called out each other's product.
People already know how Tony Khan feels about WWE. However, they often wonder about Vince McMahon's opinion on AEW? Does he see them as competition?
It's been a question that has been intriguing the wrestling universe for the past two years. Luckily, we got a definite answer to this curious question last night.
Also Read: What is Vince McMahon's net worth?
Vince McMahon does not see AEW as a WCW-level threat
During the WWE Q2 2021 earnings call with investors, Vince McMahon was presented with the 'AEW' question. A caller asked the WWE Chairman about his concerns about AEW's rise as the new competitor of WWE. The person also talked about AEW's recent success, emphasizing how important it is for WWE to take it as serious competition.
Surprisingly, Vince McMahon gave a bold answer to the question instead of taking a diplomatic route. Vinny Mac declared that he does not consider Tony Khan's company a credible threat.
Vince seemingly is not bothered by AEW in any way. He also dismissed the comparisons between AEW and WCW, calling the latter an actual competition. According to the WWE Chairman, Tony Khan is nowhere close to Ted Turner at being a threat to WWE.
"Well, it certainly is not a situation where ‘rising tides’ because that was when Ted Turner was coming after us with all of Time Warner’s assets as well,” Vince responded. “That was a different situation. AEW is where they are. I don’t really know what their plans are, all I know is what our plans are," stated Vince McMahon.
He claimed that WWE is the leading promotion of the industry.
Vince also said that he tends to focus on WWE's product instead of worrying about someone else's success. He also took a shot at AEW's strategy of signing ex-WWE talents. He offered to help them with their investments by giving them even more superstars to recruit on their roster.
It was the first time Vince McMahon openly talked about AEW's rise. It is surely going to be a trending topic in the wrestling community in the upcoming weeks.
