WWE may have spent decades acting like they’re the only wrestling game in town, but that’s not the case anymore. Here’s five times WWE brought up their rivals in AEW over the past week:
CM Punk Still Works With Children
On the March 24, edition of WWE Raw, CM Punk didn’t hold back on Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Taking aim at the pair, he noted that “The more things change, the more they stay the same. I work with children.” This was a nod to Punk declaring that he worked with “f***ing children” during his infamous All Out 2022 post-show rant.
Ricky Saints Can’t Go Back
On the March 25, edition of WWE NXT, Shawn Spears confronted Ricky Saints, a meeting of two AEW alum. Spears even alluded to Saints ‘burning bridges’ and being unable to go back if things in NXT don’t work out. Saints’ final year with AEW saw him go unused and the former FTW Champion was hardly quiet with his frustration at the time.
Drew McIntyre Gets ‘Real Glass’ in his Eye
After being attacked by Damian Priest on SmackDown, Drew McIntyre took to X to claim he’d got “real glass” in his eye. This was a clear nod to Jack Perry’s comment about using real glass at AEW All In: London 2023. This comment, itself referencing CM Punk opposing the use of real glass on Collision, would spark the backstage fight that’d result in Punk being terminated from AEW.
Cody Rhodes Gets Booed
Opening Monday Night Raw, Cody Rhodes looked to disarm John Cena by bringing up topics that Cena could use to ‘cook’ him. Along the way, Rhodes brought up being booed in a company he created, an obvious nod to the often-frosty reception he received in AEW despite being a babyface.
Cena’s Billion-Dollar Jibe
John Cena didn’t arrive to Raw to ‘cook’ Cody Rhodes but rather to ‘bury’ the Undisputed WWE Champion. In his fiery retort, Cena declared that “I make empires for billionaires,” while Rhodes just “steals money from their kids.” This was a reference to both Shad and Tony Khan, the latter being the AEW President.
AEW, the self-proclaimed “challenger brand”, has never shied away from taking shots at WWE, but now it’s the industry leader that has plenty to say. Stay tuned to SEScoops to see what AEW’s roster will have to say about all these references made.
