The Wrap’s Tony Maglio & Jeffrey Harris Discuss The Pressure Wrestling Fans Are Putting on AEW To Be A True Competitor to WWE

In the latest edition of the 411 Wrestling Interviews Podcast, Jeffrey Harris had a very interesting discussion with TV insider Tony Maglio of The Wrap, who has broken major stories in the past about WWE’s FOX TV deal as well as AEW being in advanced talks with Turner, about the wrestling TV landscape. Here’s an exchange where the two discuss the pressure that the wrestling community is putting on AEW to be a true competitor to WWE, and if that’s realistic.

Tony Maglio: “There are two things about AEW to me, its position in independent wrestling. Number one, we have it as being this great hope to compete against WWE. It is so unproven and so comparatively small, that if we put too much pressure on it, if Cody and the guys put too much pressure on themselves, it may be gone before we know it. So a lot of people are jumping, a lot of fans and writers, are jumping to the conclusion that it can compete with WWE. I absolutely do not think it can compete with WWE. In a few years, maybe. But it is nowhere near to that now. It’s a pie in the sky pipe dream. It’s wonderful, it makes us all happy, and let’s see how it all goes. Number two, there have been other options. Obviously the Ring of Honors and —

Jeffrey Harris: “I think it’s a nostalgia thing, partly, for the Monday Night Wars. People are desperate to see that again, I think. In many ways, that was one of the hottest periods of the business and I think people want to see that again.”

Tony Maglio: “I think so too, and I agree with you, I just think what I want to see isn’t necessarily what we’re going to see for a very long time, if ever. I also don’t know if anyone will ever want to go head-to-head with WWE again. It’s a completely different time.”

Jeffrey Harris: “I just want something new and fresh on TV, basically. I think AEW could be that, and I think to have new wrestling on a major network, and to have guys I like, guys like Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, to get to be on TV, a TV network that is very accessible every week, I think is fantastic. So I’m thinking about it from that more so than ‘Man, I want someone to stick it to Vince McMahon’.”

Tony Maglio: “And I think a lot of fans are more towards the middle on those two things. Of course we want to see more wrestling content. I’m a little confused, I don’t have a good answer, to a question you didn’t ask, to why nobody else has been able to get a Turner-type deal. I don’t know why. I don’t know why the Ring of Honors of the world, and New Japan has a time zone issue, so at least that makes sense to me. I don’t know why we haven’t had a real, true competitor for awhile. TV has been here for a long time, cable TV has been here for a long time, yes live sports are now, live programming I should say, is way more valuable than it used to be, but I’m not sure why it’s taking so long. So I wish the boys all the best, I would love to see a head-to-head real competition. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m not into that. I just think you, not you personally, but the royal ‘you’ wrestling fan, could be putting the cart before the horse if they think that’s going to happen in 2019 or 2020. I would be stunned.”

Jeffrey Harris: “Is Vince McMahon intimidated or is this not even a blip on his radar?”

Tony Maglio: “You know, it’s funny. I think most people would say it’s not a blip on his radar. But maybe that might be a public pride persona, and also posturing he has to do for shareholders. Frankly, the guy is so busy, the guy is so successful, the guy is so rich, I would imagine it’s something like ‘Hey, let’s keep an eye on these guys because they’re getting some of our talent.’ But beyond that, I don’t think he’s going to have to start doing things to bury them. I think right now the onus is on AEW, and what the Elite has done very well [in] kind of mocking WWE, more so than Vince needs to pay attention to them.”

You can listen to the full, nearly hour-long conversation below.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the 411 Wrestling Interview Podcast on 411mania.com.

Introduction (0:00)
On how far along AEW’s conversations are with Turner Sports (0:52)
On why Turner is willing to have wrestling return to their networks (3:33)
On what format AEW’s television show will likely take and off-seasons in wrestling (8:26)
On whether reports of the AEW TV deal could possibly jinx or affect it (19:27)
On wrestling journalism vs. general entertainment journalism (21:03)
On Turner’s potential streaming homes for AEW (25:13)
On WWE and AEW’s handling of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episode (30:21)
On the importance of Smackdown’s deal with FOX and whether it makes Smackdown the “A” show (40:00)
On AEW’s impact on WWE’s talent deals and whether it can be competition to WWE (43:12)
On how Vince McMahon Feels about the AEW TV deal and AEW possibly paying for their airtime on Turner (49:10)

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