Vince McMahon and WWE officials have been able to sit back and relax throughout most of the 21st century knowing that they're the top wrestling promotion in the world with no serious competition in sight.

After all, WCW was bought out by Vince 18 years ago - not long after the company nearly put the WWE chairman out of business. However, things are beginning to change amid the rise of AEW - who just wrapped up their second wrestling event this weekend.

AEW has quickly put themselves on the wrestling map, thanks to deep-pocketed owners (the Khan Family), proven leadership in place (Cody Rhodes and his wife Brandi), plus Matt and Nick Jackson (The Young Bucks).

Not only that, but they've recruited some of the greatest superstars in the world such as Kenny Omega and former WWE talents Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley in AEW) and Chris Jericho.

Despite AEW's incredible rise and success in such short time, WWE insists that they aren't feeling the heat just yet. In fact, the company actually thinks AEW will shoot themselves in the foot due to "their own hype," according to wrestling journalist Tom Colohue:

Related: AEW President Tony Kahn Explains Vicious Chair Shot Mistake At Fyter Fest

Instead of worrying about AEW, WWE officials need to be worried about the many problems that are hurting the company right now. Television ratings have steadily decreased throughout 2019, and attendance for Stomping Grounds and Monday Night Raw were extremely low.

On top of that, it's been suggested that a large number of WWE talents "are counting the days" until their contracts expire, and that they have their eyes set on AEW. WWE has been handing out long-term contracts in order to retain as many talents as possible - with Jinder Mahal, Mojo Rawley and Mike and Maria Kanellis recently signing new deals. But of course, WWE could be losing more of their top talents to AEW down the road. If that ends up being the case, then Vince and co. will certainly be feeling the pressure.

What This Means

WWE may not be feeling the heat from AEW yet, but it certainly looks like there will be serious competition between the two. AEW is already off to a tremendous start with their product, while WWE has to deal with poor attendance and television ratings plus disgruntled superstars. It may not be long until WWE finally realizes that they're in for a serious battle with AEW.

Next: AEW and Tony Khan Says They Won't Offer Intergender Matches