Wrestling insider Bryan Alvarez revealed a surprising story about WWE having employees at a recent AEW show to scout the competition. WWE and AEW personnel rarely have any interactions or contact since they are rival promotions. History shows WWE going head to head with any major promotions and trying to find ways to take them down. However, there was nothing hostile about this beyond AEW not knowing.
Alvarez revealed the following about the situation via the F4W Online website:
“There were TKO reps at Dynamite last week. I think just checking it out, they weren’t comped obviously.”
The news comes just a couple of weeks before AEW’s big All In 2026 PPV. AEW tries to market this as their biggest show of the year in hopes of it feeling like their WrestleMania. It appears that WWE and TKO employees attended the event to see what the live AEW experience is like as a direct competitor.
Alvarez confirmed that Tony Khan and AEW were not aware of this happening. The show took place on Wednesday for the weekly Dynamite live episode. Khan likely would not have done anything differently or tried to stop them from watching the show. A long history of competition sees some companies sending employees to view another promotion live.
What WWE Hoped To Discover At AEW?
WWE is known for engaging in detailed business practices that impact every level of the company. Researching other promotions and keeping an eye on their product makes a lot of sense since AEW is by far the biggest promotion since WCW’s glory years of the late 1990s.
Longtime WWE executive Bruce Pritchard has used his podcast to discuss stories from the past. One noteworthy tale featured WWE sending some employees to local WCW events when they were on the East Coast to get a feel of the live vibes.
WWE could be doing the same here of wanting to compare the live experience of another major promotion’s weekly television episode. AEW is still a bit further behind WWE in the pecking order, but they do present a viable alternative. WWE and TKO are showing respect to AEW by keeping a closer eye on their progression less than a decade into its history.
Which WWE Employees Attended AEW Event?
The people who actually attended AEW Dynamite on behalf of WWE are not known. However, Alvarez did confirm that they were TKO representatives from the ownership side rather than WWE creative team members.
No one from WWE’s inner workings of the daily company attended AEW. The representatives from ownership likely work on the business side of TKO and were there to examine the show as a viewer. TKO is a massive company that likes to cover all bases when running a company.
There’s a good chance TKO has done this in the past with UFC as there are many smaller MMA companies with live events. WWE will not be influenced too much by AEW, but there is always a crossover of plans when promotions compete against each other.
WWE Representatives Secretly Attended Recent AEW Show