WWE is reportedly paying some of its employees to watch AEW programming.
WWE reportedly has dedicated staff in its headquarters at Stamford, Connecticut, to watch AEW programming and report to analytics and other departments about what’s going on in the rival promotion. TC of WrestleVotes revealed this info on a WrestleVotes Live Q&A session, where he also claimed that there are people at WWE HQ who have AEW action figures on their desks.
“I know that there’s people in Stamford with AEW action figures on their desks. There’s people’s jobs is to watch AEW programming and report into analytics and different departments on what’s going on in AEW. So it’s not like a hush-hush thing,” TC said. [H/T Cultaholic]
TC reported this in response to a question about whether people in WWE talk about AEW or not. He noted that they ultimately do, as the wrestlers across both promotions have worked together before and are friends.
WWE and AEW have been in intense competition since the latter’s inception in 2019. The Wednesday Night Wars between Dynamite and NXT from October 2019 to April 2021 ultimately led to WWE moving its developmental show to Tuesdays.
In recent times, WWE tried to counterprogram AEW shows and even had the 2025 Wrestlepalooza PLE go head-to-head with AEW All Out. Reports noted that the promotion’s tactics are a part of a broader campaign to run its rival out of business. Tony Khan had also commented on the situation.
Recent reports also noted that the promotion plans to run a major show in Wales this August at Principality Stadium, a few days before the All In PPV in London on August 30. Tony Khan had also claimed that WWE counterprograms AEW purposely.
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