WWE Rumors: Stephanie McMahon talks about AEW as WWE's competition

What's the story?

F4WOnline is reporting that WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon held a backstage talent meeting before the Money In The Bank PPV.

Stephanie reportedly addressed All Elite Wrestling as a competition to WWE.

In case you didn't know...

All Elite Wrestling recently took the pro-wrestling world by storm when it announced a TV deal with TNT. Several wrestling personalities shared their thoughts on the breaking news, with WWE's Matt Riddle seemingly being overly excited about it. WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle went on to state that WWE can't be dethroned no matter how much AEW tries.

Nevertheless, AEW is here now, and is backed by a billionaire who's ready to invest a huge sum on his company.

The heart of the matter

According to F4WOnline, Stephanie McMahon gave a pep talk to WWE talent during a backstage meeting at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Although the speech she delivered wasn't anything out of the ordinary, there was one thing that stood out.

Stephanie promoted the WWE brand during her speech, and pushed the usual social media stats. She talked about WWE having a billion followers on social media, and how big of a deal it is.

Finally, Stephanie finished off by saying that in addition to competing with video games, movies, and streaming services, WWE now has to compete with AEW.

What's next?

It's refreshing to learn that the higher-ups in WWE are taking AEW seriously. This would be beneficial for the product in the coming time, as competition has always resulted in a promotion doing its best to one-up its rival.

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What are your thoughts on Stephanie's speech? Do you think AEW's arrival is the dawning of a new era in professional wrestling?