While AEW and WWE have never exactly played nice with each other, 2025 has seen things ramp up on WWE's end, with the promotion seemingly trying to counterprogram AEW every chance they get. The latest example looked to be September 20, when WWE scheduled Wrestlepalooza to go head to head with AEW All Out. And even though AEW later moved the event to the afternoon, it's done little to change people's viewpoints that WWE is looking to hurt AEW's bottom line.
This is a viewpoint AEW's Bryan Danielson also seems to share. Speaking with "Kairouz Brothers," Danielson was asked about WWE's counterprogramming, agreeing with the sentiment that it was "pretty obvious" what WWE was doing. As to why they're doing it, Danielson could only speculate that it was in part due to AEW upping the salary for wrestlers. Even if that is it the case, Danielson is left scratching his head over why WWE has chosen to go this route.
"It's interesting because we're not at the point of being a threat," Danielsons aid. "It's just a weird...it's one of the things that people who really crave power and a lot of money play these weird games that I don't understand [why]...It's like 'Okay, we're going to run all the competitors that might be competitive with us out of this business.' Why? It's good.
"It's good for the wrestlers, it's good for the wrestlers both in AEW and in WWE. It's been good for them. Like, okay, if AEW wouldn't have started, would Cody Rhodes be where he is right now? No. They have a mega star because AEW exists. Would CM Punk ever have come back? Probably not. And so it's like, you know, there's all those things."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Kairouz Brothers" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
