What Tony Khan Really Thinks Of WWE’s Dirty Tactics
Tony Khan knows WWE are up to their old tricks when it comes to running head-to-head with AEW shows, but he vows this time will be different.
AEW will hold its biggest US show on July 12 when All In Texas heads to Globe Life Field in Arlington. However, that won’t be the only major wrestling show taking place that night, as WWE has announced Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place that night, and that will be followed by the all-female Evolution show returning on July 13.
WWE took AEW’s threat very seriously when the company was formed in 2019, as NXT was moved off the company’s own Network and onto the USA Network to run head-to-head with AEW Dynamite.
But wrestling fans who know their history will know this sort of tactic from WWE is nothing new. Survivor Series was created in 1987 to run head-to-head with Jim Crockett Promotions’ annual Starrcade special. Vince McMahon famously threatened cable companies that chose to stick with Starrcade would then not have access to the following year’s WrestleMania, causing many to make the switch.
Tony Khan Learning From The Past
Speaking at the post-Double Or Nothing media scrum, Tony Khan was asked about the counter-programming, and he vowed AEW’s experience will be different from the fate that Jim Crockett Promotions met:
It’s pretty consistent. I’d say it’s the most consistent event head-to-head scheduling I’ve seen since Jim Crockett Promotions saw a lot of scheduling that went that way. I can tell you this will go a lot differently than that did.