There’s no war between WWE and AEW, at least if you ask Mark Henry.
AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT battled it out on October 10. AEW’s flagship show moved to Tuesday for a week due to the MLB Playoffs airing on TBS. WWE loaded up NXT with special appearances from John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and The Undertaker, and NXT won the ratings battle that night.
Speaking on the Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, who signed with AEW in 2021, was asked about the perceived war between WWE and AEW. (H/t Fightful for the transcription.)
“There is no war. You know what the war is? The war is the ratings in your segment,” Mark Henry said.”Do people turn the channel to another channel when you’re on? When Sexual Chocolate was on, they didn’t turn the channel.
“When the World’s Strongest Man and the Hall of Pain was on, they didn’t turn the channel. You could put me up there with some of the best. When Booker T was King Booker, they didn’t turn the channel. So that’s where the war is. The war is in the segments and the individuals.”
Mark Henry On WWE And AEW Being On The Same Night
Mark Henry went on to share his belief that neither company should want to be on the same night as the other. He emphasized that it’s not a war; rather, any overlap is linked to the networks. Henry also stated that there are seven days in a week, so there’s no need for an overlap.
“If I’m the WWE, I don’t want to be on the same night as AEW because I want all the attention,” Mark Henry said. “If I’m AEW, I’m not gonna move my show to a day that WWE is on, unless I’m pre-empted. That’s the whole point of AEW going to Tuesday, is because we had to. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna go there and piss in their cornflakes.’
“That isn’t what we did. I’m telling you, it’s not a war. A lot of the reason that things happen is because of programming notes and with the network. That’s the only way that you should be in a conversation about going on the same channel. Everybody should have a…you got seven days a week.”
The full interview is available here:
WrestleZone will have coverage of AEW Dynamite as it airs on October 18.
