Former WWE writer Vince Russo defended WWE’s decision to keep Worlds Collide scheduled opposite AEW’s tribute to PAC, stating on The Coach and Bro Show that criticism of the broadcast slot is fueled by fan rivalry. Worlds Collide was scheduled to premiere on YouTube at 7 p.m. ET on September 30, overlapping with the first hour of AEW’s broadcast honouring PAC.
Russo Dismisses Disrespect Claims
Rejecting suggestions that maintaining the original broadcast slot was disrespectful, Russo characterized the backlash as fan division. This is just the tribalism. This is just the AEW tribe wanting to have something to say about the WWE,
he said on the show.
Russo highlighted that public tributes from Triple H and The Rock showed the company had already paid its respects. Listen, man, the WWE did their due diligence. In the honor and memory of PAC, they recognized it. Triple H and The Rock said something about it,
Russo stated, adding that continuing with a planned event reflected corporate strategy. Bro, at the end of the day, business is business. Nobody’s disrespecting anybody. They got a business strategy, they acknowledged the death and paid their respects, but now it’s business.
Internal Reactions and Broader Debate
Russo’s defense followed a report from Bryan Alvarez indicating that individuals inside WWE were also unhappy about Worlds Collide airing against the tribute episode. While Russo maintains that WWE fulfilled its responsibility by publicly recognizing PAC, the reported internal concerns indicate that the scheduling debate extended past fan bases.
