AEW President Tony Khan has said that his shots at WWE is part of a “corporate philosophy” from his higher-ups at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Since launching in 2019, Khan and AEW’s roster have never shied away from making reference to WWE.
These digs have been met with a mixed response from audiences, many of whom believe Khan should focus more on his own product.
Challenger Brand
While AEW has proven to be popular with fans, the company still comes up second in almost all metrics to WWE.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Khan addressed whether he considers WWE to be competition, and spoke about a book handed to him from his bosses.
“I’ve said it before, I consider all wrestling as competition. Some people ask me why I’ll talk about other wrestling companies, especially WWE, and I’ll tell you. It was literally a book handed to me over three years ago before the launch of [AEW] Dynamite by Warner Media at the time before it was Warner Bros. Discovery.
“It was telling me what our place [was] already because Dynamite hadn’t launched, but we had carved out a space in the Pay Per View business.
“It was literally a book handed to me over three years ago before the launch of [AEW] Dynamite.”
Tony Khan on the inspiration for his digs at WWE.
“They handed me a book. It was [about] how to be a challenger brand. This is what you are. A challenger brand I learned then, three years ago, is not the industry leader, but it is also not a niche brand. It is not that. It is a big company. It is Pepsi [to Coca-Cola.] It is Burger King [to McDonald’s.]
Khan went on to explain that while challenger brands are not the number one industry leader around, their underdog role makes it easier to cultivate a loyal, passionate fanbase, which AEW has.
Taking Aim
Tony Khan is comfortable in his role as a challenger brand, and is using the tricks of the trade to get ahead.
Using his Burger King analogy, Khan explained how taking aim at the industry leader is part of what being a challenger brand.
“What will get Burger King marketing? What is Burger King marketing? Basically a lot of it is ‘hey McDonalds sucks guys.’
“So for AEW, it’s just part of what we are. We’re a challenger brand. There’s no reason to pretend we’re not. That’s what you are. Embrace it. So it is literally a corporate philosophy handed down on high to me by my boss [Warner Bros. Discovery.]
Earlier this year, Khan faced backlash for his tweet, praising himself as the longest-tenuring wrestling CEO, following the retirement of Vince McMahon amid sexual harassment allegations.