During a recent appearance on the “Illuminerdi” podcast, WWE Champion Big E. commented on appreciating AEW, how it forces WWE to step up their game, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On appreciating AEW: “I know, from a fan perspective, a lot of people would prefer that I come in here and trash talk everyone in AEW and stir the pot. But that’s not my style … I think it forces us to raise our game. If you watch their shows, and you see rabid fans/people losing their minds and people loving those shows. It should make us want to say, ‘Yo! We want to be dominating them. We want to step our game up. We want to put on the better show.’”
On AEW being a potential place for talent who leave WWE to go: “I think it’s just also very good we have men and women who may not fit here in WWE, who may not want – whatever it is. But now they have a place they can go. And they can wrestle. They can make money. They can live their dream. They can be on TV, so I think it’s great.”
On increasing diversity in the industry: “I especially, and I think the vast majority of us, we don’t want a quota system. We don’t want a system where, ‘Oh, we need more diversity. So let’s just put some random black talent or person of color in this position just because we need more diversity.’ No. When you saw Sasha and Bianca main event on night 1 of WrestleMania, to me, it was a no-brainer. It wasn’t a gift that they were given. No. They were incredible characters, incredible personalities, incredible in the ring. They put on a classic. They deserved to be there. They killed it. They owned that moment.”
On wrestlers from all backgrounds getting opportunities: “I hope that our roster just reflects the world that we live in. And whether it’s black talent, LGBTQ talent, Hispanic talent, Japanese talent, I think we should continue to reflect the society and the world that we live in.”
