WWE News: AEW's Presence felt on Monday Night Raw
What's the Story?
Two days after All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing pay-per-view, wrestling fans and a WWE Superstar made sure AEW was mentioned during the Monday Night Raw.
Sami Zayn mentioned "AEW" during the "Electric Chair" talk show segment, which lead to one last AEW chant before the final match on the show.
In case you didn't know...
AEW's Double or Nothing PPV took place this past Saturday featuring most of the AEW roster and superstars from other promotions such as OWE, AAA and others.
The biggest matches on the show featured former WWE Superstars Cody going up against Dustin Rhodes, known better for his portrayal as Goldust, Kenny Omega facing Chris Jericho and the debut of Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose.
The heart of the matter
Tonight's episode of Raw was heavily criticized by wrestling fans throughout the show, with many making comparisons to AEW's PPV and asking how WWE would "respond."
The first hour of the show had little to no wrestling until Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre made their way to the ring for a match against Lance Anoai, which is when the fans first started chanting for "AEW."
McMahon's match also drew "This is Boring" chants until Roman Reigns came down to the ring and ended the segment by attacking McIntyre and Shane-O-Mac.
The chants came and went throughout the show, but the final AEW chant came after Zayn mentioned the company by name during the Electric Chair segment.
What's next?
Criticism for tonight's episode of Raw had many fans declaring the show one of the worst episodes of 2019 as well as one of the worst episodes of all time.
The comparisons to AEW will die down over the next few weeks, but the decision to name drop AEW was significant considering that it took WWE over a decade to mention TNA Impact Wrestling.