Roman Reigns has claimed in various interviews - including one with TheSportster's very own Jim Parsons - that the new AEW rival promotion isn't competition to WWE.
AEW launched its first episode of Dynamite on Oct. 2, and they have gone head-to-head in the "Wednesday Night Wars" with NXT - which was moved to the same broadcast day and time in order to begin the ratings battle.
And for almost three months now, Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho and the other AEW talents have worked extensively in proving that they're legitimate competition to Vince McMahon's product.
In an interview with SPORT1 in Germany (h/t WrestlingInc.com), Cody responded to Reigns' statement about AEW not being real competition to WWE. The former praised the Big Dog for his work and accomplishments in WWE, and he's simply embracing the opportunity to be a competitor against the world's largest promotion.
"(Roman) is very, very smart, he has WrestleMania main event under his belt, he has incredible talent. I think at the time, a lot of people were...I don't wanna say naive. People were turning away from it, but there's no turning away now.
"WWE's on a 49 year head start and I tip my hat for that. But what we're doing is to build upon what fans have been talking about for 20 years, what they want from a wrestling product and what perhaps wasn't delivered to them. We want to be the alternative. If that means stepping into competition, so be it. It's better to have competition, for me, for Roman, for everybody."
Though AEW obviously has a long way to go in toppling WWE, it's hard to deny that Rhodes and the Khan family are bringing in a completely different and successful product on television right now.
Related: Cody Rhodes Gave WWE Permission To Use Dusty's Name For Tag Team Classic
AEW ran away with an early lead in the Wednesday Night Wars, but NXT has since gained serious momentum. Last week, the show toppled Dynamite for just the third time - netting in 795,000 against 683,000 for AEW.
From ratings and worldwide following standpoints, AEW really isn't competition for WWE just yet. But this is a marathon, not a sprint, and AEW talents surely know they're at least a few years away from possibly reaching WWE's level.
AEW Is On The Right Track
Considering that AEW isn't even a year old, and the fact that they're only running the one show a week, Cody and co. have to be pleased with where the promotion stands right now. The fact they're dominating NXT for the most part is a promising sign, and with a handful of world-class talents on the roster, AEW has to be optimistic about the long-term outlook. If they continue to do their own thing and not focus on WWE, AEW could prove to be legitimate competition down the road.
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