So reportedly, the WWE banned David Benoit and it’s not for what you’d think. Given the negative connotations the name Benoit brings to mind, expecting his family ties to be the reason is an easy conclusion. But Vince McMahon isn’t that petty. Well, he is in another way.
According to his interview with Chris Van Vliet, the WWE banned David Benoit because he went to an AEW show.
This is nothing new
The WWE has shown itself to be extremely petty when it comes to their main competition over the last year. First, fans recorded and shared footage of the WWE forcing fans to remove any AEW apparel before entering the event. Then news of their demanding complete loyalty from Diamond Dallas Page. There’s little reason to think it’d stop there, right?
According to David Benoit, “It was because I went to an AEW show. It blows my mind, bro. I had to make a few phone calls. I was trying to talk to someone, but they never got back to me for a good four to five months. Everything’s fine now, I talked to their lawyers. I’m welcomed everywhere now, we’re good.”
It seems extreme to have to talk to their lawyers about being banned for simply going to another show, but it appears that’s what happens in McMahon’s universe. He’s the man in charge of WWE, and he runs his kingdom as he sees fit.
If we look at his actions toward other companies since 2001, he’s done everything in his power to keep a possible threat from rising. He’s thrown money at the top talent in other promotions, usually buried them in the mid-card ranks, and continued on his way. So this isn’t surprising. Especially when it was McMahon and his paranoia that made this rivalry by purposely putting NXT across from AEW Dynamite to split the audience.
It wasn’t always like this
During the Monday Night Wars, most of us cheered for both companies. We had both Austin 3:16 and now shirts among others in our closets. We wore whatever we wanted to a show no matter who the company was because it’s wrestling.
But now, the battle lines have been drawn.
Even AEW has gotten into it to a certain degree. Tony Kahn announced a few weeks ago that championships AEW wrestlers win in other promotions won’t be mentioned on AEW TV, nor will the other promotions. His reasoning is there’s no reason to give free publicity to another company.
It makes sense as it stays true to old school mentality. There have also been reports that AEW won’t allow fans to wear WWE shirts, but there’s been no footage to confirm that.
