Retired Wrestler Compares AEW To Failed Vince McMahon Venture In Brutal Reality Check
Retired wrestler and AAA Hall of Famer Konnan compared AEW to Vince McMahon’s failed business venture, XFL.
McMahon resurrected the minor league in 2018, hoping it would go toe-to-toe with the National Football League (NFL). Its inaugural season was announced for 2020.
However, after five weeks of play, the league was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the owners to file for bankruptcy.
AEW President Tony Khan has often cited McMahon’s ambition to relaunch the XFL as his motivation to start All Elite Wrestling.
Khan, whose father owns the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars, saw McMahon’s announcement as “a terrible idea,” as the NFL was too strong a brand.
While discussing the launch of All Elite Wrestling, Khan explained that WWE’s wrestling monopoly was not the way forward and that it needed competition.
Both wrestling companies often clashed in the ratings war, with Khan’s company overtaking NXT and SmackDown’s rankings on several occasions, but never Raw.
Six years later, AEW continues to remain the #2 wrestling promotion in the world. Konnan recently compared it to XFL, claiming WWE is a dominant force.
AEW Is Still The Underdog, Believes Konnan
Konnan is a veteran wrestler who began competing professionally in 1988.
Inarguably, his greatest run came in WCW, where he competed as a singles wrestler before joining the New World Order and later, the Filthy Animals.
After World Championship Wrestling shut down, he went to the independent circuit, as well as competing on promotions like TNA and AAA Lucha Libre.
Konnan even had a brief stint in AEW. He currently serves as a member of the AAA creative team. The promotion is currently owned by WWE.
Speaking on his podcast Keepin’ It 100 OFFICIAL, the 61-year-old labelled the Tony Khan-led promotion an underdog, comparing it to XFL.
And you see the difference in the product, right? So I just think that at the end of the day, you know, you’re the XFL to the NFL—and that’s the way it’s going to be. And it’s probably never going to change unless something drastic happens. [H/T: Ringside News]