WWE locker room appreciates what AEW has done for the industry

AEW was launched in 2019 with Tony Khan's financial backing and heavy investment from his father, Shahid Khan. According to 'The Times of India,' Tony has a net worth of approximately $1.5 billion, while his father is valued at over $12 billion.

With such deep pockets writing the checks, AEW's financial future has never been much of a concern. Furthermore, an initial TV deal with TNT helped provide an immediate cash injection. With so much cash backing the company, AEW was quickly positioned to begin offering fair market value for available talents. In return, the entire wrestling industry began to see an uptick in contract negotiations and overall pay.

During a recent appearance on the "Inside The Ropes" podcast, former AEW star Cody Rhodes, who helped found the company, detailed the reaction inside the WWE locker room once he made his return to the promotion. Rhodes noted how most members of WWE were appreciative of AEW's existence as it had helped push wrestlers into new pay brackets once their deals were up for renewal.

"Truthfully most of the boys, if not all of them, were very appreciative and grateful for what me and Matt and Nick and Kenny and everyone had done, because it helped the bottom line in the industry in the sense of contracts started coming out, really high dollar contracts started coming out," Rhodes said. "Wrestling went from seven figure guys to there was the ability for some guys to make eight figures and still looking at our global penetration that's probably still less than what we could ultimately achieve."

Whenever there's a competitive market with multiple parties bidding for talent, there's a chance some contracts will be considered overpays. Swerve Strickland's recent contract extension is apparently among them , as some members of WWE have reportedly expressed their concerns at the deals AEW is handing out.

“The (Strickland) deal, and the offer to Daniel Garcia, were told to us by someone on the WWE side for Garcia and more than one on Strickland, as being bad for the sport because they are so far over what would WWE would perceive the market value for both to be, with the idea he’s spending more than he needs to and raising salaries," Dave Meltzer reported in a recent Wrestling Observer newsletter.

Regardless of what some members of other wrestling companies may believe, having competition within the industry is good for everyone. AEW has forced WWE and others to raise their games, both in terms of production and in how they treat their staffs. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that most within the wrestling community are grateful for AEW and what they've brought to the table.