Report: Rock’s AEW Praise Still a Talking Point in WWE

The Rock’s decision to publicly praise AEW and Tony Khan in the wake of PAC’s death is reportedly still being discussed behind the scenes at WWE, weeks after the tribute first went public. According to Dave Meltzer, the comments from the WWE star and TKO board member have remained a point of internal conversation within the company even as the news cycle has moved on.

The situation traces back to a video The Rock shared honoring PAC, the British high-flyer who built his reputation in AEW before his passing. In sharing that tribute, The Rock extended credit to Tony Khan and the AEW roster, a notable gesture given his position not just as a WWE performer but as a sitting member of the TKO board that oversees WWE’s business operations.

That dual role is exactly why the moment has had staying power. The Rock isn’t a rank-and-file talent weighing in on a rival promotion — he sits on the board of the company that controls WWE, giving even a brief, well-intentioned tribute an added layer of scrutiny. In an industry where WWE and AEW are positioned as direct competitors for audience, media rights, and top-level talent, any kind word from a WWE-aligned figure toward Tony Khan’s promotion tends to get noticed.

It’s worth remembering the larger context here. PAC’s death resonated across the wrestling world regardless of promotional lines, and tributes poured in from performers across WWE, AEW, NJPW, and beyond. The Rock’s message was, on its face, a straightforward show of respect for a wrestler whose work was widely admired industry-wide. That it has continued to generate internal discussion within WWE says less about the tribute itself and more about how sensitive the WWE-AEW dynamic remains, even in moments meant to transcend company rivalries.

There’s no indication of any formal fallout, discipline, or policy change tied to the comments — just an ongoing undercurrent of conversation, according to the report. That distinction matters. This isn’t a story about The Rock being at odds with WWE leadership; it’s a story about how closely every public word from a TKO board member gets parsed, especially when it touches on the competition.

For Rock himself, the moment underscores the unusual space he now occupies in wrestling — still an attraction capable of drawing headlines for a WWE appearance, but also a corporate figure whose statements carry weight well beyond the squared circle. How WWE internally processes moments like this, especially as speculation about his in-ring future continues to simmer, will be worth watching.

For now, there’s no sign of any public response from WWE, The Rock, or AEW addressing the internal chatter directly. But in an era where the lines between performer, executive, and rival-company relations keep blurring, even a tribute video can turn into a talking point that lingers.