How Close WWE And AEW Got To Working Together For DX Reunion Special

They had a request. The wrestling world has changed quite a bit since AEW became a new major promotion. For the first time in decades, WWE has major competition for television viewers and talent. That is not something they are used to but the two sides almost came together to do something special earlier this month. Now we know what might have been enough to make it work.

Earlier this month, WWE presented the 25th anniversary of D-Generation X on the October 10 edition of Monday Night Raw. However, the segment did not include Billy Gunn, who is under contract to AEW. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the two companies did discuss Gunn being allowed to appear, with AEW President Tony Khan requesting WWE acknowledge that Gunn works for AEW. This caused WWE to stall and the deal fell through. WWE had such an appearance by then Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James at this year’s Royal Rumble.

Opinion: This is the kind of thing that could have made for a very special moment but at least what we got wound up being a nice enough deal. The problem is that if Gunn had appeared, the WWE/AEW crossover would have dominated the discussion and missed the point of the night. I can get WWE not wanting to give AEW the attention, even though Gunn working for AEW is hardly a secret.