- Changes at WWE can benefit the entire industry, AEW boss Tony Khan told DAZN.
- Vince McMahon retired earlier this year in disgrace. Triple H is now creative lead at WWE.
The changes WWE may be making in a post-Vince McMahon era could benefit the market-leading promotion, as well as its arch-rival, AEW boss Tony Khan told DAZN this week.
A seismic shift is underway at WWE in light of Vince McMahon's retirement as a 40-year leader of the company.
McMahon's position seemingly became untenable after The Wall Street Journal reported that WWE was investigating him for paying women affiliated with the WWE millions of dollars to keep their sexual misconduct allegations quiet.
In an SEC filing on Tuesday, the WWE said McMahon made "unrecorded expenses" totaling $19.6 million.
Though McMahon remains a stockholder with a controlling interest in WWE, his daughter Stephanie McMahon replaced him as co-CEO, alongside Nick Khan.
Paul "Triple-H" Levesque replaced McMahon as WWE's head of creative direction.
WWE is 'getting better,' according to AEW boss Khan
With McMahon at the helm, the WWE's focus was "sports entertainment." However, PWInsider reported that Triple-H acknowledged on a phone call that nobody can fulfill McMahon's role but they could do their own thing, instead.
Their own thing, in this new era, could focus on actual wrestling, according to a pro wrestling figurehead named Jerry Jarrett, the promoter of Continental Wrestling.
This could benefit WWE, Khan said in an interview with DAZN, adding that it could also benefit his firm AEW — a potential challenger to WWE's dominance in the pro wrestling space.
DAZN asked Khan whether 2022 could be a hard year for him as a promoter with AEW considering McMahon's retirement, and Triple H taking over as creative lead at WWE.
Khan said the competition is "changing," adding: "I think that's a good thing in some ways. If you like good wrestling, you're just more likely to want to see it because our competitor has been doing better shows recently than they had been doing, I think.
"I watch them pretty often, and I think they've been better. It seems like that's the consensus among people who watch them."
'If you're a fan of good wrestling,' Khan said, 'it's a good time to step back in'
Khan went on to say that if more people are going to be watching wrestling, then the entire industry benefits. "We stand to gain the most in many ways."
The AEW president said his firm would benefit because people may be looking to find where their former favorite superstars are now performing.
Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and CM Punk — all iconic performers with WWE — are now at AEW, Khan said.
"I think if you're a fan of good wrestling, it'd be a great time to step back in and check it out because right now, there's a lot of good wrestling on TV," said Khan to DAZN.
AEW's last special event was Quake by the Lake on August 10. Its next big show is Grand Slam on September 21 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
WWE's next flagship event, Clash at the Castle, takes place on September 3.