Why Bully Ray Was Shocked To Hear Seth Rollins Call AEW 'The Competition' On WWE Raw

Last night on "WWE Raw," Seth Rollins referred to AEW as "the competition" in his promo with CM Punk at the end of the show. WWE has rarely mentioned AEW on their programming since the company started in 2019, often refraining from actually naming the initials of the brand, and choosing to refer to them as the opposition. However, on "Busted Open Radio," WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray was completely surprised that Rollins chose to use the word competition to reference AEW.

"I was shocked because I thought that gave AEW a little bit of ammunition to come out and say, look they just admitted on their own show that we're competition. I was also hooked on that word, I cant believe they said it also, for two different reasons, but very much the same." Sami Zayn famously name-dropped AEW during his electric chair segment with Corey Graves on "Raw" in 2019. He told the audience, "You could've asked me anything, you could have asked me about AEW," after answering all questions from the fans in attendance. AEW has also made their own references to WWE on their programming in the past as well, usually naming the brand in promos against stars who were previously with the company.

Rollins and Punk will go one-on-one next week on the first "Raw" on Netflix, and it's expected to be the main event of the show.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.