This week will be one of the most historic in the history of professional wrestling - as WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite prepare to clash in the "Wednesday Night Wars".
Not only that, but Friday marks the 20th anniversary of SmackDown Live - as well as the brand's first show under the new Fox television deal. Needless to say, it's going to be a joyful and action-packed week for wrestling fans across the world.
The brewing war between WWE and AEW has seen both companies take several shots at one another. WWE legend and current AEW talent Chris Jericho called NXT "minor leagues," while The Young Bucks recentlyy took aim at Vince McMahon for his management of tag team wrestling.
Well, it was Triple H's turn to get a jab in at AEW - as they compete hard with the NXT brand that The Game built up into a global powerhouse. In an interview with Sporting News, Triple H fired a shot at AEW by calling them "one-off shows" while expressing little concern about them as a business rival.
"We have the opportunity five years, in or whatever it is, to stay in our time slot, go to the No. 1 cable channel on television and expand it so there's more opportunity for everybody, but the goal is the same.
It doesn't matter to me if there's another show on that night. It doesn't matter to me if there's somebody else in the space. I'm not concerned with that, especially not yet given the fact that so far, they've held four, five shows. And they've been great. But they're one-off shows."
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Triple H also explained that WWE has gone through competition with WCW, NFL, MLB and other events. He took another jab at AEW by pointing out that their weekly show hasn't begun yet. Finally, Triple H added that "there's no track record of success long-term of a two-hour, weekly live event in any way, shape, or form."
Well, WWE doesn't seem to be the least bit worried about the competition with AEW, and perhaps for good reason. They were able to finish off WCW in 2001, when Vince bought out his "competition." TNA started up soon after and tried going to war with WWE, but they didn't have much success in that regard. Only time will tell if AEW can seriously challenge WWE.
AEW Has A Long Way To Go
Triple H makes a strong point about the challenges that AEW faces, and those will have to be addressed in short time. WWE remains the top wrestling promotion in the world right now, and it's going to take AEW several years until they can dream of reaching WWE's level. Nonetheless, the wars will be something of epic proportions for wrestling fans around the world.