Bryan Danielson recalls Vince McMahon asking him if he saw anything AEW is doing better than WWE

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Originally published at Bryan Danielson recalls Vince McMahon asking him if he saw anything AEW is doing better than WWE

Danielson told McMahon that the WWE product can feel like a wrestling show without any wrestling. 

There is a feature story on the Bloomberg site that is centered around All Elite Wrestling. Among those interviewed for the article were company President Tony Khan, Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and Britt Baker. 

It is noted in the piece via Danielson that in early 2020, WWE’s Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, Vince McMahon, contacted him and asked if he saw anything AEW is doing better than WWE. Danielson told McMahon that the WWE product can feel like a wrestling show without any wrestling. 

Below is the excerpt from the article:

Bryan Danielson, one of WWE’s top stars, says that in early 2020 McMahon called him and asked a question that shocked the wrestler: “Do you see anything that AEW’s doing better than us?” Danielson, at home on paternity leave, spent the next two weeks watching every morsel of AEW programming and came to a conclusion: AEW committed more time to and placed more value on the craft of fighting in the ring. WWE’s shows were often marked by long segments of characters on the microphone and short matches. “It feels like you’re watching a wrestling show without any wrestling,” Danielson told McMahon.

After resigning as Chairman and CEO of WWE in the summer of 2022, Vince McMahon was voted back onto the company’s Board of Directors following Stephanie McMahon’s resignation from her roles within WWE.

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A good read - that certainly seems to paint AEW in a good light ahead of the TV renewal process, and positions them as a strong alternative to WWE.

Although… the cover for the story leaves a lot to be desired…

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Lol I was going to say, who the hell chose that to be the cover art.

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Remember when Ultimate Warrior came back at WM8 and there were rumors that it was a different guy? That’s what that cover reminds me of.

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Great argument against using AI art right there.

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dino2

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It’s weird but a picture is used to draw interest to the story. I think it works in this case

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The cover art in my opinion is just shot after shot at wrestling in general, which is normal for mainstream media.

On the WWE side, calling WWE “volatile” is a dig, calling WWE an “empire” is meant to have a negative connotation as people don’t associate “empires” as a good thing.

On the AEW side, calling Tony Khan “The Billionaire’s son” is also a dig, why can’t it just say “Tony Khan is coming for the WWE”, they are one step away from saying “Tony Khan is using daddy’s money to come after the WWE”.

I know its not blatant, but these are the types of subtle digs mainstream media have always used to look down on wrestling. The roided up caricature is just the icing on top.

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It was an interesting read. Like a lot of mainstream media articles about WWE or AEW you can tell it was written by a casual fan who felt like they had to over-explain everything and keep it simple for anyone reading who hasn’t followed the industry.

But I don’t think non-fans read these articles so they might as well have made it much deeper. The guy seemingly had access backstage. If he interviewed the Young Bucks or Kenny Omega about the history of the company he should have spent time on those quotes. Instead of explaining Kayfabe.