With AEW being a year old and already gaining national television on TNT, selling out arenas, and winning some bidding wars for talent in free agency, many see them as a threat to WWE.
But, while he welcomes the fight, WWE Co-President George Barrios doesn't see them as an existential threat. Speaking at Citi 2020 Global TMT West Conference, Barrios was asked about All Elite Wrestling and whether they present competition to WWE.
"I'm a kid from Queens so everything is a competition and fight. That's one of the things I love about WWE. My DNA fits within that. We don't take anything for granted. We are serious like a heart attack around fighting for our unfair share. Having said that, I think it's fair to say that there's been other wrestling in the United States and abroad, who we respect people behind it, the talent, and what they do. It can be tough to compete with us because we're so good at what we do. We've built up capabilities and competencies over a long, long time. How to build stars, present the content, and engage fans over multiple platforms. We think we're hard to compete with. We don't take anything for granted. If you said to me, existential, do I feel [like they're a threat]? No. But I love a good fight. We enjoy it," he said.
Jim Ross said over the summer of 2019 that Vince McMahon once told him, "I never lost a street fight" and that he views AEW vs. WWE as a corporate street fight. You can view Ross' full comments by clicking here.
As far as the ratings/viewership numbers for AEW and NXT go in the "fight," AEW was back on top this week, beating NXT in viewership and by a wide margin in the 18 to 49 demo. You can find the full numbers by clicking here.
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