WWE will intensify its siege on AEW in the scheduling war

WWE has intensified its counterprogramming strategy against All Elite Wrestling in recent months. The latest move in this scheduling war was made by AEW, which decided to move up its All Out event to 3:00 PM EST on September 20 in order to avoid a direct clash with Wrestlepalooza, WWE's new premium event scheduled for that same night.

On the Wrestling Observer Live program, Bryan Alvarez pointed out that his sources within WWE confirmed to him that the company intends to continue pressuring AEW with aggressive scheduling strategies. "Basically, I was told from inside WWE: that's how it's going to be. They are going after them and they will continue," the journalist commented.

Alvarez even suggested that this clash could go one step further in the future, to the point where both companies adjust their schedules based on each other's moves.

I don't think it will happen on this show, but the day will come when WWE counter-programs, AEW moves its event, and then WWE moves theirs again. It will happen at some point. They are going to mess with Tony Khan because now they know he will blink, he will move his show.

This confrontation represents a qualitative leap in the ratings war. While WWE had already used NXT to compete directly with AEW events throughout 2025, Wrestlepalooza will mark the first date where a premium main roster event directly coincides with a major AEW show.

So far this year, WWE has tried to counterprogram AEW's major shows on several occasions, highlighting the NXT Battleground show, which competed with AEW Double or Nothing on May 25, or the NXT The Great American Bash event, which competed with AEW All In: Texas. It is rumored that this strategy comes from a decision by Nick Khan, President of WWE.