WWE's Roman Reigns Doesn't See AEW As Competition
Roman Reigns continues his reign as the Universal Champion within the WWE and is set to have one of the biggest matches of his career at the upcoming Crown Jewel pay-per-view event as he defends his title against the former long-time champion in Brock Lesnar. Taking the opportunity to chat with outlet Complex, Reigns took the opportunity to share his thoughts on All Elite Wrestling, the professional wrestling organization that is the biggest competitor to World Wrestling Entertainment as both companies vie for supremacy, though the AEW still has some ground to cover to overtake its rival.
Reigns had this to say regarding how he sees All Elite Wrestling as not currently being competition to the roster of wrestlers that make up the WWE:
"No. I mean, not for me personally. This is one of those subjects that's very subjective and there's a lot of passion and tribalism that really sways and creates an unbiased opinion. But I can only speak from my perspective. I'm one of those guys who will compete at anything. Like, 'I bet you I can eat that cookie faster.' I want to be the best at anything that I choose to do. We pull up on lawn mowers, we cut the yard in half, I'm going to beat you. My side will look better than yours. So me, I don't see the real competition with AEW because I think their fan base legitimately is a hardcore fan base. So there's like a ceiling and a built-in ground to that viewership."
Extrapolating on this, Roman went into detail about World Wrestling Entertainment's approach in attempting to reel in casual viewers while All Elite is more designed for a "hardcore base,":
"The WWE is trying to connect with everyone. We're trying to connect with the mainstream. We're trying to pull in the casual fan. We're trying to engage the new viewer, while also servicing our hardcore fan base and give them compelling stories to fulfill them as well. I don't know if I've said it before, but I've said it before, when the audience is probably the biggest character in your show, that's strange to me."
What do you think of Reigns' view on the AEW? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of professional wrestling.