Full Backstage Story Behind AEW Stars Appearing On WWE Raw This Week
More details emerge on AEW's Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, & co. appearing on WWE Raw.
Monday's WWE Raw saw several wrestlers cross the United States' interpromotional divide, with AEW stars Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Paul Wight appearing as talking heads in segments celebrating John Cena's 20th anniversary in professional wrestling.
This came as a shock, given tensions between the two competing promotions and WWE's propensity for playing poorly with others. Nonetheless, it was followed by a report stating that AEW founder and CEO Tony Khan was fine with it happening.
The new Wrestling Observer Newsletter provides additional details. Per Dave Meltzer, a few days before Raw (24 June), WWE senior vice president Bruce Prichard contacted Khan about getting clips from Danielson, Jericho, Wight, and Mark Henry, all of whom had notable WWE tenures that saw them cross paths with Cena. Khan, who has a lot of respect for Cena, felt WWE were doing "a good show," and said that he was okay with the idea as long as the talent agreed.
AEW executive Megha Parekh then reached out to the talent, who agreed. The Danielson, Jericho, and Wight segments were all used. Henry filmed one that ultimately didn't air.
Khan had previously consented to Jericho appearing on Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions on WWE Network while under AEW contract. Airing in April 2021, that episode spiked interest in AEW for a brief period afterwards.