Roman Reigns: I Don't See The Real Competition With AEW
"The Head Of The Table" Universal Champion Roman Reigns doesn't see competition in AEW. ## As noted, this will be a special two-and-a-half-hour edition of Supersized SmackDown, airing at 8/7 C on FS1. So, that means, WWE and AEW are set to go head-to-head for 30-minute this Friday Night. ## Speaking to MIKE DESTEFANO Of Complex, Reigns explained that he doesn't see the real competition with AEW, because their fan base legitimately is a hardcore fan base. ## "No. I mean, not for me personally. This is one of those subjects thatâs very subjective and thereâs a lot of passion and tribalism that really sways and creates an unbiased opinion. But I can only speak from my perspective. Iâm one of those guys who will compete at anything. Like, âI bet you I can eat that cookie faster.â 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, Iâm going to beat you. My side will look better than yours. So me, I donât see the real competition [with AEW] because I think their fan base legitimately is a hardcore fan base. ## "So thereâs like a ceiling and a built-in ground to that viewership. [The WWE is] trying to connect with everyone. Weâre trying to connect with the mainstream. Weâre trying to pull in the casual fan. Weâre trying to engage the new viewer, while also servicing our hardcore fan base and give them compelling stories to fulfill them as well. I donât know if Iâve said it before, but Iâve said it before, when the audience is probably the biggest character in your show, thatâs strange to me. Youâll hear it all the time, the reviews and the comparisons.## "I think because they are the new kids on the block, theyâre the cool kids in town I guess because of how premature and how novel it kind of still is, I think there still being babied by these hardcore wrestling fans. Which is fine. Thatâs great. I donât think anybodyâs going to ever, especially from a performance standpoint say, âOh no, thereâs more opportunities out there? That sucks.â ## "So itâs not a bad thing. Itâs a great thing for professional wrestling. Itâs just a weird argument because thereâs so much bias and thereâs so much, âIâm on this side and Iâm not gonna open my mind to the other side.â And it goes both ways. ## "As far as competition, not to me. There might be some other people on our roster who maybe think they need to dig deep and get better as a performer and what they do out there at the art form, but thereâs nobody in the whole world, any other promotion, in WWE...Iâm better at this art form than everybody else. And I stand on that. Thatâs the totality of it. Iâm not just talking about, âOh, his spots are so good and he counters real well.â That stuff donât mean anything to me. When you tally it all up, nobody touches me in this business. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk.
