5 AEW stars that had an online battle with WWE stars
Since its inception in 2019, AEW has actively tried to present itself as a legitimate competitor to WWE. Tony Khan takes the war with the Stamford-based promotion very seriously, as he has never left any opportunity to take shots at his industry rivals. Meanwhile, Triple H has also been quite ruthless in this rivalry with AEW since assuming charge of the WWE creative team.
While it is common for the higher officials of WWE and AEW to trade verbal jabs, things get really interesting once the wrestlers from both companies enter the equation. Over the years, numerous instances of AEW stars butting heads with WWE stars on the internet have been observed.
While some of these online battles were won by WWE talents, a few of these exchanges went in the favor of AEW stars. While these exchanges mostly involved light-hearted barbs, there were times when the banter between the stars from the two companies turned ugly.
In this article, let's look at five times AEW Superstars had a war of words with WWE stars online.
#5. Will Ospreay and Seth Rollins went head-to-head with each other in 2019
The former AEW International Champion Will Ospreay has captivated the fans with his high-quality performances for several years. While many people consider Ospreay the best professional wrestler in the world, Seth Rollins was one of the rare individuals who disputed that fact in the summer of 2019.
After a successful defense of the WWE Universal Title at Stomping Grounds 2019, The Architect took to X/Twitter to declare himself as the best wrestler in the world. The controversial tweet generated a reaction from Will Ospreay, who wrote the words, "I'm alive," in response to Rollins' bold proclamation.
The Visionary was seemingly offended by Ospreay's response. In a subsequent tweet, Rollins implied that The Aerial Assassin was nowhere near his level and that WWE already had the superior high-flyer on their roster in the form of Ricochet.
However, The Commonwealth Kingpin was not fazed by Rollins' comments and fired right back at the then-reigning Universal Champion. Will Ospreay responded by listing down the number of matches he had wrestled that year, and how he was more determined to excel in the business than Seth Rollins.
Unexpectedly, The Revolutionary decided to compare the amount of money the two stars were making in pro wrestling in comparison to Ospreay's previous tweet. It was a pretty distasteful comment, that rightfully generated criticism from the entire wrestling community.
Following a few days of self-introspection, The Architect put an end to his online beef with Ospreay by apologizing to him on Twitter. In his tweet, Rollins mentioned that he was disappointed at making such a baffling statement, claiming that his previous comments did not align with his moral values. The Aerial Assassin accepted Rollins' apology, citing their mutual passion for the pro wrestling business.
#4. Former AEW World Champion MJF entered a Twitter feud with Sheamus in 2022
Sheamus is one of the most decorated stars on the WWE roster, who has bagged numerous accolades in his illustrious career. On the other hand, MJF is one of the most despicable heels on the AEW roster, who has been a cornerstone of the Jacksonville-based promotion since the very beginning.
In September 2022, the two stars engaged in a fierce feud on X/Twitter. During an interesting online exchange with Baron Corbin, The Celtic Warrior ended up taking an indirect shot at MJF. While discussing the PWI 500 ratings with The Lone Wolf on Twitter, Sheamus stated that the real heels are the ones who wear scarves, which was a direct dig at The Salt of the Earth.
Not the one to shy away from a confrontation, MJF commented "sad" in response to Sheamus' tweet. The former WWE United States Champion came up with a fiery reply, sharing the iconic GIF of Conor Mcgregor refusing to acknowledge Jeremy Stephens.
The Salt of the Earth took notice of Sheamus' comments to deliver a strong verbal blow to The Celtic Warrior. As per MJF, The Irishman took a decade to get his flowers as an in-ring performer, because he was not good enough to be a reliable main event talent before in his career.
The 46-year-old veteran continued to mock MJF's affection for scarfs, as he shared a GIF of Chris Jericho from his List of Jericho days when he used to wrap a scarf around his neck.
The former AEW World Champion delivered one final message to end the heated exchange. The Salt of the Earth called out Sheamus' obsession with his scarf, before expressing his desire to see his good friend Baron Corbin beat up The Celtic Warrior.
#3. Tony Khan and Jinder Mahal had a heated exchange earlier this year
After a brief hiatus from in-ring competition, Jinder Mahal returned to WWE RAW in January 2024. The Modern-day Maharaja first engaged in a promo segment with The Rock, before eventually setting his sights on the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Seth Rollins.
Surprisingly, Tony Khan took offense to Mahal being rewarded with a World Title match despite not being a credible enough opponent for The Architect. The head booker of AEW took to X/Twitter to point out Mahal's poor win/loss record, while also bringing up the lack of outrage against WWE's inconsistent booking.
Tony Khan also used the example of former FTW Champion, Hook, who was next in line to challenge for the AEW World Championship, having maintained a stellar 28-1 win/loss record.
Jinder Mahal was quick to respond to TK and took a cheeky jab at Hook. In a now-deleted tweet, he refused to acknowledge The Cold-hearted Handsome Devil and also promoted his upcoming bout against The Visionary. Fans were taken aback by Tony Khan targeting a specific WWE talent, who had finally got a major opportunity after a very long time.
Now that The Modern-day Maharaja is no longer in WWE, it would be interesting to see if he shows up in AEW in the near future.
#2. Braun Strowman got into a war of words with AEW star Lance Archer in 2020
Braun Strowman and Lance Archer are two of the most terrifying individuals in the pro wrestling business. Aside from having super strength, both stars possess incredible agility, which gives them a significant advantage over the majority of their opponents.
While the stars have not yet aligned for a Strowman vs. Archer bout, the two monsters have gone back and forth on X/Twitter in the past. In March 2020, The Monster of Among Men took exception to a fan calling Lance Archer a beast inside the squared circle. The Twitter user had praised The Murderhawk for being a believable monstrous force while criticizing Strowman for not having a similar presence.
The former WWE Universal Champion called Archer a "Great Value brand version of himself," implying that the former IWGP United States Champion was beneath his level. The Murderhawk Monster replied to Strowman's jab by stating he was far more valuable, charismatic, and experienced than the former Wyatt Family member.
The Monster Among Men was fired up after receiving a strong response from Archer and agreed to battle the veteran star anytime in the future.
#1. Darby Allin once took a shot at Cora Jade
Before embracing her dark side, Cora Jade used to be a cheerful babyface in NXT, who brought along a skateboard every time she made her in-ring entrance. Another star that is synonymous with using a skateboard is Darby Allin, who often uses the wooden object as a weapon against his opponents.
In December 2021, The Invisible Man took a shot at Cora Jade for incorporating skateboarding into her onscreen persona. A Twitter user had expressed his desire to see a skateboarding contest between Allin and Jade, which prompted the former TNT Champion to justify that his love for the sport was genuine, and not a gimmicky prop he used on television.
Allin's comments drew the ire of The Sorceress of Sin, who replied with a strong statement against the daredevil star. In a tweet that was worded quite similarly to Allin's, the former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion stated that being a good person without any abuse allegations was one of her personality traits and not something she solely portrayed on television.
It was a bold move on Jade's part to bring up Darby Allin's past, which had been marred with controversies before this moment. Ultimately, the two stars deleted their respective tweets, preventing the conversation from becoming even uglier.