The wrestling landscape would look dramatically different if Tony Khan and Triple H shook hands instead of trading barbs
Wrestling fans love their tribal warfare. Team WWE versus Team AEW. The Wednesday Night War. Social media battles over television ratings. But strip away the corporate competition and passionate fanbase allegiances, and an intriguing question emerges: What if All Elite Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment had forged a working partnership instead of positioning themselves as sworn enemies?
The implications would reshape professional wrestling as we know it.
The Talent Exchange Revolution
Picture this: Jon Moxley headlines a WWE pay-per-view while Roman Reigns main events an AEW Dynamite. CM Punk returns to wrestling not in a bitter legal battle, but as part of a landmark inter-promotional storyline that sees him challenge both companies’ top champions.
A working relationship would create the ultimate talent exchange program. WWE’s developmental system would feed promising prospects to AEW for seasoning, while AEW’s established stars would work WWE programs to reach broader audiences. Neither company would need to hoard talent or engage in bidding wars that inflate contracts beyond sustainable levels.
The creative possibilities explode when you consider dream matches that currently exist only in video games. Kenny Omega versus Seth Rollins. Cody Rhodes challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship while simultaneously holding WWE gold. Women’s divisions collaborating to elevate stars like Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, and Mercedes Moné across both platforms.
WrestleMania Meets All Out
Special events would transform into spectacles that dwarf anything either company produces independently. Imagine a yearly “Forbidden Door” style supercard, but with WWE’s production values, marketing machine, and mainstream reach backing AEW’s creative freedom and diverse roster.
WrestleMania could feature an entire night dedicated to inter-promotional matches. Survivor Series could pit WWE’s roster against AEW’s finest. The Royal Rumble could include surprise AEW entrants, creating genuine shock moments that social media would dissect for months.
These collaborative events would generate pay-per-view buy rates and streaming numbers that justify premium pricing while delivering unprecedented value to wrestling fans starved for novelty.
The Streaming Wars Advantage
Both companies currently fight uphill battles against entertainment giants like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max. A partnership would combine WWE’s massive content library with AEW’s growing catalog, creating a wrestling streaming service that could compete with major platforms.
Subscribers would access everything from Monday Night Raw to Wednesday Night Dynamite, plus exclusive inter-promotional content, documentary series following storylines across both companies, and a vast archive spanning decades of wrestling history.
The combined subscriber base would dwarf what either company achieves independently, while production costs would decrease through shared resources and facilities.
Creative Renaissance
Competition often breeds innovation, but collaboration could unleash even greater creative potential. WWE’s writers could learn from AEW’s sports-centric presentation and long-term storytelling approach. AEW’s creative team could benefit from WWE’s character development expertise and mainstream sensibilities.
Storylines would span months or years across both promotions. A wrestler could begin their journey in AEW, develop their character through various feuds, then transition to WWE for a completely different presentation of the same persona. The character depth and evolution would create more invested audiences.
Young wrestlers would receive the best of both worlds: WWE’s performance center training combined with AEW’s emphasis on in-ring competition and creative freedom.
The Indie Connection Strengthens
Both companies currently maintain relationships with independent promotions, but a unified approach would revolutionize the entire wrestling ecosystem. Independent wrestlers would have clearer pathways to major league success, with performance standards and development programs that prepare them for either company’s style.
Promotions like Game Changer Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and New Japan Pro Wrestling would benefit from increased exposure through cross-promotional storylines and talent exchanges.
The entire industry would professionalize further, with standardized safety protocols, shared medical resources, and coordinated scheduling that prevents wrestler burnout from overwork.
Network Television Renaissance
Wrestling’s mainstream appeal would skyrocket with coordinated programming across multiple networks. Fox, TNT, TBS, and USA Network could cross-promote storylines, creating appointment television that casual fans couldn’t ignore.
Imagine Monday Night Raw ending with an AEW star making a surprise appearance, with the storyline continuing Wednesday on Dynamite. Television ratings would surge as viewers tune in across all programs to follow complete narratives.
Advertisers would flock to guaranteed cross-platform exposure, driving up television rights fees and creating more revenue for wrestler salaries and production improvements.
The Roadblocks to Paradise
This wrestling utopia faces significant obstacles. Corporate egos run deep in professional wrestling. Vince McMahon built WWE by crushing territorial competition, while Tony Khan positioned AEW as the alternative to WWE’s corporate machine.
Financial structures would require complete restructuring. Revenue sharing, talent contracts, creative control, and branding decisions would need unprecedented cooperation between traditionally secretive organizations.
Fan culture itself might resist this collaboration. Wrestling fans often define themselves by their promotion loyalty. Eliminating that tribal aspect could reduce the passionate engagement that drives social media buzz and grassroots marketing.
The Bottom Line
A WWE-AEW working relationship would create the most prosperous period in professional wrestling history. Combined resources would elevate production values, increase wrestler salaries, expand global reach, and deliver dream matches that currently exist only in fan fantasy booking.
The wrestling industry would stop cannibalizing itself through talent raids and rating wars, instead focusing energy on growing the entire medium’s mainstream appeal.
But perhaps the competition serves wrestling better than cooperation ever could. The Monday Night Wars produced wrestling’s most profitable era because each company pushed the other toward excellence. Maybe the real magic happens when wrestlers and creative teams fight for survival rather than collaboration.
Either way, wrestling fans win by imagining the possibilities—even if they remain forever trapped in the realm of “what if.”
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