Roman Reigns Says Calling AEW Competition To WWE Is "Generous"
Former WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns recently took some time to speak to SPORT1 in Germany about the current happenings taking place in the world of professional wrestling, including AEW's launch.
Reigns had a firm statement for the people that dare to disrespect the company his family has spent generations developing, WWE. He's content if this stance he holds has people considering him one of the "locker room leaders" amongst the other superstars.
"I'll be damned if anyone is gonna disrespect what we do here, especially within our company," Reigns explained. "If you're within our walls, within our locker room and not handling your business the right way, I have no problem with stepping up. I fear no man and if you don't like what I'm coming from, there's a couple of options we can do. I firmly believe in the history that my family has had in this business, the relationship they had with the McMahons and WWE. And I'll be damned if anyone disrespects our way of life. I've been fed and I fed my family for years now from this meal plan and I'm not gonna let anyone step on that. If that makes me a locker room leader, then yeah, you can call me that."
Reigns also commented on the popular, developing company that is AEW. Although he does appreciate that this creates another alternative product for fans, Reigns thinks that WWE is much more ahead of the curve on a production scale than AEW and other companies.
"I think [Seth Rollins] is being generous in calling them a competition. I don't want to get too deep into this? I said it before: it's an option and that's great for professional wrestlers, pretty cool for fans. Before my family was WWE only, we've been a territorial family. You had to move, work with different promotions and territories," Reigns said. "I'm always gonna be 'pro pro-wrestler', but at the end of the day, WWE is my home. It's what I represent and we're so far ahead.
"You can see it in other shows – it's not easy to have a clean production," Reigns continued. "You have to have a lot of experience. Our talent is top-notch, we've got main eventers for days but it also is our crew. They're busting their asses all night to get the show running. There are so many people that make this place work. When you see other people out there trying to do it, you see the flaws and it makes you respect what we do even more. It's easy to complain and to say this and this on paper, but when it's time to go out there and actually do it, nobody will do it like WWE. Period."