"The hardest fight I’ve been through"- Tony Khan comments on the Wednesday Night Wars between NXT and AEW
Tony Khan has called the Wednesday Nights Wars between NXT and AEW the hardest fight he has been through.
While nowhere close to the infamous Monday Night Wars, the battle between Tony Khan's AEW and WWE NXT provided fans with a true sense of competition between promotions after many years.
NXT and AEW Dynamite went head-to-head on Wednesday nights in the same timeslot. AEW won the rating battle on most nights, losing in the 18-49 demographic rating just once in 76 weeks.
On the Le Batard and Friends Network podcast, Tony Khan discussed the AEW-NXT rivalry. He held back from saying anything negative about the black and gold brand, stating that the one night AEW lost the demo battle, he felt like his back was against the wall.
“What would you call NXT? Their show went head-to-head against me for over a year, before they had to move it,” Khan pointed out. “That’s just the truth. That’s a black and white statistic. I don’t want to say anything bad about anybody. That’s just a fact. That was a fight. That was the hardest fight I’ve been through. I mentioned the end of 2019 and trying to get more organized, there was one week at the end of 2019 where they actually won the demographic, and I think it ended up being in 76 weeks head-to-head, we won 75 to one and the one week they got it, I was up against the wall." (h/t: WrestlingInc)
Tony Khan believes there's no reason for AEW and NXT fans to be hostile
With Wednesday Night Wars over, fans can now enjoy great wrestling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
However, there are sections of both fanbases who continue to have a go at each other instead of appreciating the wrestling on display. Tony Khan called for fans to enjoy both shows, instead of focusing on which one is better.
“There clearly are a lot of people who feel that way because I think there are a lot of WWE fans that maybe don’t like AEW because they see us as the opposing team, like if the Jaguars were playing another team, and you have to pick one or the other. Well, I don’t think it has to be like that now, especially now that the shows are not on head-to-head anymore. You don’t have to make that choice. You can watch it all, watch what you want," said Tony Khan.
AEW and Tony Khan are making giant strides in the business and the latest signing of CM Punk is a testament to the progress made by the promotion in such a short period of time.
With talents like Daniel Bryan and Adam Cole also being linked with a move to AEW, the future seems to be bright for Khan's promotion.