Times WWE Fired Shots At AEW

The landscape of wrestling changed when AEW formed behind Tony Khan’s vision with a few established top stars and a strong TV deal. AEW had a hot start posing a threat to WWE, but the gap has grown following the pandemic ending and WWE’s business setting historic records under Triple H.

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AEW has been known to take shots at WWE, as Khan even said that was suggested to him as a “challenger brand.” WWE doesn’t get as blatant with their moments of slinging mud, but it surely does happen. The following moments showed WWE throwing shots at AEW and taking aim at the newer promotion hoping to challenge them.

Triple H Throws First Shots At Hall Of Fame

Insulted AEW Before They Even Debuted To Mock Billy Gunn

• Triple H Was First Person From WWE To Publicly Insult AEW
• Billy Gunn Smiled But Admitted It Angered Him Afterwards
• AEW Pushed Billy For One More Run On TV

D-Generation X received their WWE Hall of Fame induction back in 2019, just months before AEW had their first show. Billy Gunn had already signed his AEW contract for a backstage coaching role, but he was still allowed to get inducted as part of DX.

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Triple H made a joke to trash AEW before it started by saying Vince McMahon would buy “the pissant company” just to hire Billy again. Future interviews saw Gunn revealing it upset him more than one would have expected, and he had to bite his tongue.

Vince McMahon Coining Term “Blood & Guts”

AEW Used Vince’s Insult For One Of Their Biggest Matches

• Vince Insulted AEW For Having Blood In Cody Vs Dustin On AEW's First PPV
• Questioned If TNT Would Ever Allow That Kind Of Wrestling On TV
• AEW Was Indeed Allowed To Use Blood For Almost Five Years

The early start of AEW saw most people at the top of WWE trying to not mention them as another promotion. Vince McMahon did have some critical comments about the kind of product AEW would have, after the Cody Rhodes vs Dustin Rhodes match showed blood would return in mainstream wrestling.

The term “blood and guts” was used by Vince while implying that TNT would not put up with that. McMahon was wrong about it, as TNT still allow it five years later, but he was making it clear WWE would not go back to bloody matches under his watch.

Drew McIntyre Making Barbed Wire Explosion Joke

Fans Put Together Humorous Line Making Fun Of AEW Botch

• AEW Had A Major Embarrassing Moment With Barbed Wire Botch
• Drew Made Joke About Disappointing Fans With Sparks Flying
• Said He Wasn't Even Thinking About AEW Directly With Reference

WWE putting Drew McIntyre in a top heel spot has made him a top player again, but his work has been great for years. An overlooked shot at AEW on WWE TV surprisingly came from Drew one night after AEW suffered embarrassment for their barbed wire explosion botch.

McIntyre said "If you make a guarantee and don't deliver, fans get upset and sparks fly!" to MVP about making promises during a promo. Future interviews saw Drew claiming it was a joke not intended to be a shot and it may have been subconsciously referencing the moment at best.

CM Punk’s Promo Referencing AEW Drama

WWE’s Audience Didn’t Even React To His Comment

• Punk Returning To WWE After AEW Departure Was Shocking
• Made Reference To The Backstage Fight With Jack Perry That Got Him Fired From AEW
• WWE Fans Didn't Care About Or Understand The Inside AEW Joke

AEW fired CM Punk after too many scandals became a consistent problem backstage. A second fight involving Punk occurred when he allegedly choked Jack Perry in his final night before AEW’s discipline committee fired him.

WWE bringing back Punk at Survivor Series 2023 was an all-time shocking moment. Before Punk’s injury took him off television, he did reference AEW in one promo talking about how people don’t want to work with someone who punches them in the face. Unfortunately, WWE fans didn’t pick up on it and the line got little to no reaction.

NXT Going For The Throat Against Dynamite

Wanted To Make Statement At AEW’s Expense

• WWE Wanted NXT Revenge After First "War" Ended With NXT Moving
• AEW Getting Forced To Tuesdays One Week Led To Another Battle
• Undertaker, John Cena & Others Were Called In For Big NXT Win

Most of the “shots” fired at AEW from WWE have been throwaway comments. However, the business side of things can see moves behind the scenes playing into that side of competition. WWE tried to put NXT against AEW in the early stages, and it backfired.

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There was finally time for revenge on the NXT side when AEW was forced to move Dynamite to Tuesday during a week with playoff sports on TBS. John Cena, Cody Rhodes, The Undertaker and many other big names were called to give NXT the big ratings victory over AEW.

Triple H Buries “Forbidden Door” After Royal Rumble

Intentionally Insulted AEW’s Concept When Talking About TNA

• Fans Wanted To Use Forbidden Door Term For Jordynne Grace In WWE
• Triple H Went Out Of His Way To Poke Fun At The Term During Press Conference
• AEW Uses Forbidden Door Name For Big Shows & General Marketing

Jordynne Grace appearing in the 2024 Royal Rumble match saw her representing TNA as the Knockouts Champion. WWE shocked many fans by having a talent from outside of their own promotion appear in such a pivotal match.

Triple H made fun of the “forbidden door” term that Tony Khan uses for AEW’s working relationships with New Japan and other promotions. WWE working with TNA will likely never see Triple H calling it a forbidden door.

Michael Cole Poked Fun At Tony Khan Interview

Ariel Helwani Led To Some WWE Vs AEW Drama

• Tony Khan & Ariel Helwani Had War Of Words After Awkward Interview
• Ariel's Relationship With WWE's Nick Khan Led To Tony Questioning Him
• Michael Cole Made Fun Of Tony's Comment When Ariel Was On WWE PPV

MMA reporter Ariel Helwani having a bad interview with Tony Khan led to them both throwing insults at each other. Helwani felt Tony was giving him a bad interview by not talking about Brawl Out, and Tony felt Ariel was being unfair due to his connections with WWE’s Nick Khan.

Michael Cole referenced this when Helwani was in the crowd for WWE Elimination Chamber 2023. The quote “unbiased, world-renowned journalist” was used to play into Tony’s comments accusing Ariel of having such a bias for WWE and Nick.

Edge Showed Respect To The Miz After CM Punk Insult

Wanted To Praise Miz After Punk Trashed Him On WWE TV

• Punk Name Dropping Miz Was Meant To Insult MJF In AEW
• Edge Referenced "The Other Show" While Cutting Promo On Miz
• Punk & Edge Have Switched Companies Since This All Happened

CM Punk was not afraid of throwing shade at WWE on AEW TV when he had the chance. A promo battle with MJF led to Punk using it to call him a less famous Miz, but it was done in the context of fans comparing MJF to Miz.

This inspired Edge to reference it on WWE TV during his own feud with Miz saying that he’s so good that other shows have to talk about him to get attention. Punk now working for WWE now and Edge moving to AEW makes this all funnier today.