Vince McMahon wanted to "stomp on" AEW and other threats to WWE, according to former superstar (Exclusive)
Former WWE Superstar EC3 believes Vince McMahon viewed All Elite Wrestling as a threat when Tony Khan launched the company in 2019.
AEW’s flagship show, Dynamite, began airing head-to-head against WWE NXT on Wednesday nights in October 2019. NXT regularly lost to Dynamite in the television ratings before moving to Tuesday nights in April 2021.
On Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” show, EC3 gave his take on the former WWE Chairman’s opinion of AEW. The Control Your Narrative (CYN) founder also jokingly referenced Braun Strowman, real name Adam Scherr, and his recent return to WWE:
“Yeah, he cares about anything that’s probably competitive in any sense,” EC3 said. “They probably wanted to kill CYN before it starts. Welcome back, Adam! When you’re the top dog and there’s ever even a minor threat, even if it’s an anthill that you just have to stomp on… well, why would you do that? ‘It doesn’t matter if I do it or I don’t, but I know I won’t ever see these ants again. Stomp.’” [5:01-5:28]
Watch the video above to hear EC3 and Vince Russo’s thoughts on whether Triple H really views NXT as a developmental brand.
Did Vince McMahon care about WCW?
During the late 1990s, Vince Russo was WWE’s head writer as RAW battled WCW Nitro in the television ratings on Monday nights.
At 77, time for me to retire.
Thank you, WWE Universe.
Then. Now. Forever. Together. #WWE #thankful
According to Russo, Vince McMahon only paid attention to WCW when Nitro drew more viewers than RAW:
“No, I know he didn’t [care about WCW initially],” Russo said. “He didn’t care about them until he looked up and they were beating him in the ratings, then they got his attention. Up until that point, not at all, not at all.” [5:36-5:50]
EC3 added that competition in the wrestling business is good for everyone:
“You are so much better with competition. You are so much better, especially when you’re being chased, and you’re so much better when you get outran and you realize, ‘These people can’t outrun me. Are you kidding? This? No.’ And then you really buckle down.” [5:50-6:06]
Vince McMahon retired in July amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Triple H now leads WWE’s creative team, while Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon are the company’s co-CEOs.
Do you think AEW is legitimate competition for WWE? Let us know in the comments section.
Please credit Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.