Steve Austin Gives His Thoughts on AEW vs WWE

It's undeniable that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin knows a thing or two about competition in pro wrestling. Let alone, how to end that competition.

Austin's rise to the top of the WWE and the wrestling world in general was one of the major contributing factors toward WWE eventually putting their rival, WCW, out of business after one of the most competitive periods in wrestling history between two companies.

After becoming a mid-level star in WCW, Austin couldn't break through to the main event scene and was famously fired by Eric Bischoff. After a brief stint in ECW, Austin arrived in WWE and set the wrestling world on fire following his win at the 1996 edition of WWE King of the Ring, the night where he coined the phrase "Austin 3:16."

So when Sports Illustrated recently posed the question to Austin about what he thinks about WWE vs. AEW, he had some thoughts.

"Without competition, who knows what would have happened in my career—who knows what will come out of Wednesday nights, but I believe in competition," Austin said. "I know AEW is doing their thing and they say they're not competition, and WWE might say it's not competition, but if it's on across from each other, it's competition.

"I remember when WCW's Nitro kicked our ass for two years in the 'Monday Night Wars.' I couldn't believe it, I thought our show was better, but they kept winning. Finally, we started turning the tide when everybody got so hot. The fact that we had competition, man, that made everybody push the envelope. I certainly wasn't afraid to push the envelope, and I did. I'm thankful for the 'Monday Night Wars.' They helped define me. They helped Vince, and it helped us go out on a limb with some of the crazy stuff we did in our feud that became water-cooler talk and transcend the business."

There's no denying competition is good for the wrestling industry, and Austin backed that up with a pretty personal argument as to why that is the case. Without someone else in the business pushing WWE to do better, you're more likely to see stale shows. A successful AEW is good for the business all around as it forces everyone to be on their "A game." Plus, it gives talent another viable place to work which is good for th workers themselves.

What are your favorite memories from the Monday Night Wars? Do you see AEW vs. WWE ever getting to that point? Let us know in the comments section below and follow me on Twitter @ryandroste for all things WWE and NXT!