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Thanks to the emergence of Tony Khan's AEW as a competitor to WWE, professional wrestling is more interesting than it has been in two decades. As seen during the Monday Night Wars, competition truly brings the best out of everyone and forces them to push their boundaries.
Even though people in WWE often try to downplay any sense of rivalry between the two companies, Tony Khan is more than happy to fan the flames of war.
It isn't just the votes of the hardcore fanbase that's swung in AEW's favor, they've even managed to edge out WWE in the key 18-49 demographic on a few occasions.
In addition to adding big stars such as Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole to their roster, they've also managed to deliver the return of CM Punk to professional wrestling, something which Vince McMahon failed to do.
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While WWE is still the biggest promotion in the world, AEW is becoming a thorn in their side. With that being said, here are five times that Tony Khan took a shot at WWE:
#5 Tony Khan comments on Nick Khan's talks with NJPW
Earlier this year, WWE's Nick Khan was reportedly in discussions with New Japan Pro Wrestling over an exclusive working relationship. However, the talks fell through and a number of NJPW stars have appeared on AEW television instead.
Tony Khan took the opportunity to take a jab at the WWE president and send a message.
"I read in the Observer today that New Japan is in talks with WWE's President Nick Khan. Well, Nick I have to say that if you have been talking to New Japan Wrestling for two months then you've gotten a lot done. I have future plans for the US Title, so you've really gotten a lot done in the last two months, Nick. In fact, I think there's only room for one Khan in the wrestling business. It's me, it's Tony Khan. Not some con-man from Connecticut," said Tony Khan.
NJPW veteran Tomohiro Ishii made his AEW debut on the most recent episode of Dynamite, and there have also been rumors suggesting that Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi might make appearances in the not too distant future.
#4 A declaration of war
When WWE announced a super-sized edition of SmackDown for October 15 to compete with Rampage, Khan welcomed the opportunity to go head-to-head with their "A show."
"I saw you’re doing a half hour head-to-head with us. I can’t wait to finally beat your main show head-to-head. It’s been a long time coming. See you next Friday for #AEWRampage on @AEWonTNT!" tweeted Tony Khan.
Rampage eventually did defeat SmackDown in the 18-49 demographic during the 30-minute head-to-head.
#3 Tony Khan's thoughts on WWE revamping NXT
During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Nick Khan stated that WWE was looking to revamp their developmental system, which led to the birth of NXT 2.0. He emphasized that WWE was looking for other sources of talent than the independents.
The AEW owner took exception to these remarks.
"Professional wrestling is an art form. You don’t create great artists by training them all to paint by numbers in the same way," said Tony Khan.
While it's easy to criticize them, WWE adopted a similar approach to developmental in OVW - a system that gave them Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista.
#2 Tony Khan states that AEW offers more security to its stars than WWE
During an interview with Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan commented on WWE releasing upwards of 80 wrestlers over the last year.
In the wake of their most recent round of cuts, Khan said that WWE deals were more like temporary agreements than real contracts.
"Anyone who signs a contract (in WWE) these days, is not signing a real contract. It's a temporary arrangement. People who come wrestle with me, a lot of these people are frankly lifers and they know that. There are some people who are here who work really hard and there are some people who come in and work more than really hard and I feel like [it] is their actual life and will be with me for the rest of my life. I don't know if everybody who works for my competition can say that. I think there are people who work there and they aren't sure they will be there next week. There is a lot more security with a contract here,” said Tony Khan.
While it's unfortunate that WWE has released so many talented performers, some of them have managed to find a new lease on life outside the promotion. Superstars such as Malakai Black, Miro and Ruby Soho are all now thriving in AEW.
#1 Tony Khan comments on Supersized SmackDown's commercial-free half hour
A firm believer in fans being able to watch as much wrestling as they can, Tony Khan labeled WWE's decision to go head-to-head with Rampage "predatory." During an interview with The New York Post, he also said that going commercial-free wasn't good for anyone.
I’ve coined a phrase which is WYW, watch your wrestling. Whatever people what to watch, I want them to watch it. Unfortunately, if we are on at the same time it’s harder for people to watch their wrestling, at least live. We can take the commercials out of it. If you want to take the commercials out of it, I can do that too. It doesn’t seem very civil but I have more money than they do so I can afford to do that longer than they can. But that’s how we make money at the end of the day, so I was surprised when they took those out," said Tony Khan.
