Some people in WWE are reportedly still bothered by The Rock’s praise of Tony Khan in the tribute video he posted for PAC weeks ago.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the topic still comes up regularly behind the scenes at WWE.
Meltzer wrote that at least one person from WWE has raised the subject with him every week since the video was posted. The complaints are reportedly not about the tribute to Satterley but about Johnson’s positive comments on Khan, given that AEW competes with WWE.
“Not a week has gone by without at least one person from WWE bringing up the Dwayne Johnson video on Ben Satterley’s death,” Meltzer said. “Not what he said about Satterley, which everyone understood, but his praising Tony Khan. Evidently with some that sting still hasn’t gone away.”
Meltzer also said there are different theories about Johnson’s intentions in posting the tribute. In his view, Johnson may have simply been showing his love for pro wrestling and sending condolences to the people at AEW who worked with PAC, without considering the business rivalry between WWE and AEW.
Meltzer had already reported in early October that people in WWE were surprised by the way Johnson praised Khan and called AEW a “phenomenal wrestling company.”
After the initial reaction, Johnson responded publicly to the criticism on October 4. He said he doesn’t see competition between companies when someone in wrestling dies and in those moments cares about the people affected by the loss.
AEW held a special tribute episode of Dynamite for PAC on September 30.