Tony Khan Reveals Why AEW No Longer Takes Shots At WWE (AEW News)
AEW's Tony Khan has talked about his "refined media strategy".
With AEW President Tony Khan making a newsworthy appearance on The Coach & Bro yesterday, one topic that came up during that conversation was why AEW doesn't take as many shots at WWE as they've done previously.
On that matter, Khan explained that he's "refined" his "media strategy" and "people have seen me try to take the high road".
This topic came up when Vince Russo suggested Tony should take more shots at WWE, with Khan noting that, at the start of AEW, there was a collective rebel spirit, but that the company is now an established brand and operates in a slightly different way than those early years.
INTERVIEW: AEW CEO Tony Khan joins The Coach and Vince Russo | Coach and Bro | April 7 https://t.co/U36vYTVrYS— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 7, 2026
Of course, in years gone by, AEW would often make reference to WWE when the chance arose, such as Taz's infamous "sloppy shop" comments during the dark days of the pandemic, or MJF at one point being referred to as a "less famous Miz".
More recently, any references to WWE - be that WWE talent or WWE practices - have been kept to a minimum, and, by all accounts, that appears to be a clear strategy from Tony Khan; focus more on AEW and resist the urge to throw shade towards WWE. Whether that stays the case remains to be seen, but, to many, the AEW product is a far better one when it focuses more on itself, rather than taking potshots at the competition.