5 times AEW stars and WWE Superstars clashed on social media

AEW and WWE might have publicly stirred clear from acknowledging each other as legitimate competition, but that has not stopped their fans and stars from taking potshots at each other.

WWE had initially tried to use NXT to curb AEW's momentum by going head-to-head with Dynamite on Wednesday night. It lasted barely two years before Vince McMahon and co. conceded defeat. Tony Khan has also signed a large number of former WWE Superstars, taking advantage of the massive talent cuts that have occurred recently.

WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff believes Tony Khan is gradually closing the gap with Vince McMahon's promotion. With its growing audience, he believes the company is well on its way to challenging WWE. Speaking on his podcast 83 weeks, Bischoff said:

“Tony Khan's company is definitely closing the gap, they’re growing, their audience is growing. If that trend continues, I think my quote was they’re going to be legitimate competition. I’m not sure I said anything about closing the gap, although, I didn’t write the headline."

"I think what I was referring to is they're on their way to becoming legitimate competition. When I say legitimate competition, I’m talking about market share, not online hype and peripheral news headlines because 90% of that is bullsh** anyway."

With the brewing rivalry and tribalism, it's no surprise that the stars of each promotion might tend to clash with one another on social media. Whether it's taking potshots at each other's finishers or arguing over ratings, here are five times WWE and AEW talents feuded online.

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#5. AEW TNT Interim Champion Sammy Guevara vs. WWE Superstar T-Bar

In early 2021, RAW star T-Bar called out Sammy Guevara on Twitter for stealing The Retribution member’s finisher. He debuted a move on the main roster called Eyes Wide Shut, which is similar to the TNT Interim Champion's GTH.

Guevara responded by saying that T-Bar had himself stolen that move from former pro-wrestler Matt Demorest. As a way to further poke fun at T-Bar, Guevara dressed up as the RAW star in a video blog on his YouTube channel. He then asked his friend to guess who he was, to which she first replied "a virgin," and later, "a jobber."

Naturally, this caught T-Bar's attention. Dijak tweeted "RENT FREE" on his account as a way of implying that he lives rent-free in the head of the AEW star. The heat between the two wrestlers felt real and got fans debating which star performed the finisher better.

#4. AEW veteran Chris Jericho vs. WWE Superstar Sasha Banks

AEW wrestler Chris Jericho and WWE Superstar Sasha Banks had a fun Twitter back and forth in 2020. Banks was the WWE Women's Tag Team Champion alongside Bayley. Fresh off their latest title defense on NXT, Banks tweeted that they are a better pairing than Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, who are known as the "Le Sex Gods."

This bold claim caught the attention of the former world champion. Jericho congratulated Banks and Bayley on their success before engaging in some friendly banter with the duo. He responded by saying that Dynamite still beat them in the all-important 18-49-year-old demographics, a line commonly touted by Tony Khan as well.

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#3. Hit Row's Top Dolla vs. The Acclaimed's Max Caster & Young Bucks

Former AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks might play villains on television. But their obnoxious outfits and apparent love for sneakers attracted at least one detractor, former WWE SmackDown star Top Dolla.

The Hit Row member questioned the tag team's legitimacy as sneakerheads late last year, which caused Matt and Nick Jackson to respond through their Twitter bio. The latest jab came when the brothers shaded the NXT roster's sneaker game. This led Top Dolla to tweet this reply:

“Some of y’all favorite wrestlers only wear sneakers on-camera to seem ‘cool & hip’ but in real life they rock vans and ASICS exclusively…but y’all not ready for that conversation [zipper lips emoji].”

It didn't end there as the rapper followed up by releasing a diss track directed towards the EVPs. The social media feud grew bigger as AEW's resident freestyler Max Caster of The Acclaimed took some digs at WWE NXT's ratings and Top Dolla after the following week's Dynamite went off-the-air.

#2. Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes vs. WWE Superstar Champion Charlotte Flair

AEW and WWE talents engaged in a social media war back in late 2019, and it was all sparked by Twitter comments made by CM Punk. Before The Straight Edge Superstar made his return to wrestling, he briefly appeared as an analyst on WWE Backstage.

In his role, he had to critique the current WWE product and catch up on the years of wrestling he missed. In his tweet, he also tagged AEW owner Tony Khan.

The controversial response led to several people from both companies chiming in on their thoughts, including Randy Orton (more on that later) and Brandi Rhodes, and WWE star Charlotte Flair. Brandi approved of Khan's comments and claims that he gave a verbal knockout. Flair, however, was unimpressed and sarcastically remarked "please" with a rolling eyes emoji.

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#1. WWE veteran Randy Orton vs. AEW owner Tony Khan

Randy Orton got into a huge Twitter spat with rival company owner Tony Khan after Tony made a snarky remark about WWE's business relationship with Saudi Arabia. Orton, who wrestled on the show, tweeted a link to a news article on allegations of corruption made against Tony's father Shahid. He captioned the post:

“What’s that whole thing about glass houses and stones.”

This, of course, enraged the younger Khan, who clapped back with the tweet above. The war of words also attracted comments from various stars from both companies at the time. Orton had just signed a new long-term deal with WWE after teasing that he would join AEW. It's the most high-profile social media clash among two of the biggest personalities from each promotion.