If there’s any doubt the WWE is looking to defeat AEW once and for all it left the building this past weekend during AEW Double or Nothing.
In a move that is reminiscent of the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars when WWE sent DX to invade WCW a couple of times, a truck advertising WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view drove around the arena in Las Vegas.
Cody Rhodes was featured in the add and the Money in the Banks PPV is also being held in Las Vegas on July 2.
There’s every possibility this was a retaliatory move by the WWE after Tony Kahn mocked the WWE for having to change venues for MITB from Allegiant Stadium to MGM Grand Garden Arena.
This is driving around the arena 😀 #AEWDoubleOrNothing pic.twitter.com/MEf9gRwU7W
— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) May 29, 2022
Recapturing an old stride
The reason the WWE moved is unknown, but it has been speculated that it’s because they only sold half the tickets available for Allegiant Stadium.
If true, it makes sense given it’s not bad optics to have an event with a partially full stadium. The WWE has changed recording nights for their weekly shows due to low ticket sales, so there is a precedent.
The reason for the lower ticket sales could be a myriad of things, including SummerSlam being around the corner and fans may want to save their money of tickets to one of the big 4 WWE pay-per-views.
Another possibility, as Tony Kahn pointed out, is the WWE would be going against the UFC that night.
And as we mentioned above, Kahn wasted no time in going after the WWE for changing venues.
Yesterday: one of my favorite days, including
-great visits with fans + media
-a trip to LA for the most fulfilling meeting of my life with @wbd leadership
-dinner with my Dad + Dana White, where I got to break the news to Dana about MITB moving to MGM
Today: #AEWRampage on TNT!— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) May 27, 2022
“Yesterday: one of my favorite days, including
“-great visits with fans + media
“-a trip to LA for the most fulfilling meeting of my life with @wbd leadership
“-dinner with my Dad + Dana White, where I got to break the news to Dana about MITB moving to MGM
“Today: #AEWRampage on TNT!”
Kahn then replied to his Tweet with: “Genius move trying to take on Dana and the UFC in Vegas during International Fight Week.”
According to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, people in WWE were furious at Kahn’s actions.
That’s not hard to imagine given it’s as aggressive and Kahn could be, and that would make our speculation that the WWE ad was a strike back at them.
AEW’s been taking a lot of flak from wrestling fans lately as it feels more like a fantasy wrestling league than a company, and while this will embolden their hardcore fans, the rest are waiting for the next shoe to drop.
For us, WWE’s ad idea was a stroke of genius and we’re stoked to see what’s next between the two companies. What do you think about the WWE’s ad run? Let us know in the comments below.
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