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WWE has had its fair share of Superstars and/or management take shots at AEW. Those remarks were subtle references or direct shots meant to be said to garner attention from the company and to rile up the internet wrestling community. AEW has done the same on numerous occasions.
The war between WWE and AEW is not quite as intense as the WWE vs. WCW wars. However, both organizations have done a great job of generating quite a buzz in the industry and have brought interest back to the pro wrestling genre.
Today, we look at 5 times WWE Superstars have taken a shot at AEW or their talent roster.
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#5. – Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre took a moment to throw some shade at AEW after their AEW Revolution (2021) pay-per-view. The event featured a botched finish to their Explosive Barb-Wire match between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega.
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The match went over very well, however, the end “explosion” had a major malfunction and didn’t quite go as planned, leading to much criticism from fans and wrestlers alike.
McIntyre cut a promo on Monday Night Raw following AEW’s Revolution event, and chose to throw some shots at the company as he stated:
“That’s such a dangerous thing to do in this industry because if you make a guarantee and don’t deliver, fans get upset and sparks fly”.
McIntyre recently lost an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match to Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle.
#4. – MVP
MVP has never been one that is shy to comment on the good and bad in the wrestling industry. Especially if he notices something that looks a little off or too familiar.
MVP felt the gimmick was very similar. He also pointed out the scarf gimmick MJF had and compared it to his own gimmick from 2010 in an Instagram post:
“Flasback!!!! MVP with a dope scarf and stylishly attired. Looks familiar. Like I've recently seen this look and attitude rebooted...”
MVP is currently the manager of Omos on the Raw Brand.
#3. – Braun Strowman
The former Universal Champion has taken some shots at AEW in the past for deeming the organization to have an unsafe work environment. Braun posted the following message on his Instagram:
"CYN will be around longer than this trash. And our backing is worth 100's of dollars cause it's our money. Not blowing through daddy's hard earned [that's super questionable on the hard work but what ever do i know] #Botchfest #MarkFest #KilledTheBusiness.”
Braun Strowman is currently a part of CYN (Control Your Narrative) and is rumored to be returning to the company as of tonight’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
#2. – "King of Kings" Triple H
“The King of Kings” and the Head of the Creative Team didn’t hesitate to throw some shade at AEW. The first remark came at the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony featuring D-Generation X. Billy Gunn is one of the trainers for AEW and jokingly remarked that he no longer works for WWE. Triple H didn’t hesitate to respond jokingly with:
“He will buy that pissant company just to fire you again.”
More recently, “The Game” interviewed with BT Sport, speaking about AEW beating NXT during the “Wednesday Night Wars,” as Triple H said the following:
"No...no. No look, people put so much pressure on all this competitive war. It never was that. Look first of all they beat our developmental system, good for them, right? No, it was never that. There was never even a pressure of like you have to beat that. It was never that. It was put on the best product we could,"
As mentioned above, Triple H is currently the Head of WWE’s Creative Team.
#1. – Former WWE Chairman & CEO, Vince McMahon
The former Chairman and CEO didn’t waste time in comparing his company to AEW back in 2019 during WWE’s 2019 Second Earnings Call, as Vince McMahon said the following about AEW’s product:
"We're gonna be a bit edgier, but still remain in the PG environment. We won't come anywhere close to going into another level. That will be something we do in terms of the direction of content, more controversy, and better storylines. At the same time, we're not going to go back to the Attitude Era. We're not gonna do blood and guts, such as being done on perhaps a new potential competitor. We're not going to go back to that gory crap that we graduated from. It's a more sophisticated product."
Ironically enough, AEW would go on to create their version of the “War Games: The Match Beyond” match and call it “Blood & Guts.” This seemingly came as a direct response to McMahon’s comments.
Vince McMahon is now retired from WWE and is no longer the Chairman or CEO of the organization.
Also Check Out: WWE segments that were too wild for the PG Era.
