What Else Can WWE Throw At AEW?

Jason Ounpraseuth

15 Aug 2025 — 4 min read

Ed Webster, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

After years of claiming everything is competition, it seems WWE has set its sights on taking down its main pro wrestling competitor: AEW.

The competition kicked off when WWE booked Goldberg's retirement match against Gunther to go head-to-head against All In: Texas, which was part of WWE's weekend takeover of Atlanta. WWE will double down on the counterprogramming as Post Wrestling's John Pollock and Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston reported that a John Cena-Brock Lesnar main event will be booked on the same day as All Out on Sept. 20. WWE also reportedly is considering booking Cena's retirement match on Saturday Night's Main Event against World's End, though there could be complications due to the NFL.

For those who don't follow pro wrestling news closely, you might be wondering why WWE is doing this. Well, the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer "reported" that WWE wants to put Tony Khan and AEW out of business by the time their current TV deal with WBD expires. I use quotations around "reported" because the Meltzer quote reads like speculation, but it's an educated deduction of what WWE has done this year.

To add to this, Meltzer added context to WWE's business relationship with TNA, and Sports Illustrated's Jon Alba reported that TNA is open to moving to Wednesday nights opposite Dynamite; a report that TNA president Carlos Silva did not dispute.

AEW was always WWE's competition, and it isn't shying away from it now. TKO wants control of MMA through UFC, boxing and pro wrestling through WWE. The legality of a pro wrestling monopoly is complicated, but WWE and TKO are committed to it by flooding that market.

But it had me wondering what WWE could pull out of its pocket to continue to counterprogram against AEW. After all, Lesnar's connection with the Janel Grant lawsuit (yes, I know he's not a listed defendant) and his standing with the WWE audience is fragile. Cena will retire in December, so it needs more options for big programs. WWE seemingly has given up on using NXT, and TNA seems to be an answer for the TV side of things. Whether or not these strategies work is up in the air, but WWE is committed to this business strategy, so I figured it'd be interesting to see what it can throw at its audience.

I brainstormed seven big matches WWE could throw against AEW's PPVs.

The Rock vs. Roman Reigns/Cody Rhodes

This one's pretty obvious. Ari Emmanuel reportedly called Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to help boost ticket sales for this year's Elimination Chamber, and it led to the hottest angle that Paul "Triple H" Levesque later fumbled. The Rock cut a weird promo burying the hatchet between himself and Reigns and Rhodes, but WWE always can find a way to get around to these matches. It's the biggest chip in Lesvesque's pocket if business or his booking starts to slip too far down.

The Undertaker returns

Good old Mark Calaway remains a loyal soldier to WWE. The company hasn't been afraid to bring him back for NXT spots, and Calaway reportedly wants to work more behind the scenes. But if WWE wants another big Saturday Night's Main Event match, why not have The Undertaker come out of retirement again? It will be a horrible match, but the fanfare for the WWE audience would be huge.

Jade Cargill vs. Charlotte Flair/Becky Lynch/Bianca Belair

WWE's booking of Cargill has seen mixed results. To her credit, Cargill has been slightly better in the ring this year, but I would imagine WWE would hope she would be further along at this point. That's because it likely wants to book her in marquee matches against Flair, Lynch or Belair, opponents she has not faced in WWE yet, the latter of whom she hasn't resolved her major storyline with. WWE's booking of its women's division hasn't been great, but it could make a big star if it wants to pull the trigger on Cargill.

Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn

I primarily focused on first-time matchups, but WWE could bring back Bloodline nostalgia by having these two feud.

What's notable is that WWE's primary method for counterprogramming against AEW is nostalgia. The company is incapable of making new stars matter. Fans can throw Dominik Mysterio, but he's never going to be a legitimate world title contender. The women's division can provide it hope, but Levesque doesn't seem interested in elevating any women's talent above that of men. WWE's business continues to do well, and as long as it does, it's hard to see a change in its booking philosophy. And there will come a time when it runs out of ideas to try to take down AEW.