Road Dogg Admits WWE Were Scared By AEW

When All Elite Wrestling launched in 2019 they were on a mission to freshen up the American pro-wrestling scene, with WWE having run as the unopposed biggest company in the country for nearly 20 years.

Whilst AEW would serve more as an alternative than out-and-out competition, WWE Executive Brian ‘Road Dogg’ James admitted on the Oh... You Didn’t Know podcast that WWE were ‘scared’ by the group upon their formation:

“I don’t know how to articulate it exactly. But it was a period where it was like, ‘oh, okay, we’re not the only ones anymore. We’re not Lone Rangers anymore’. And when they started getting hot for a little while, it got even scarier a little bit. It was like, they are giving the fans what they want. I think the IWC, the Internet wrestling community, thinks they’re the only fans out there. And I think the ratings prove there are more than just that on a weekly basis.

“We were scared of them. Yeah, they started great, they were giving everybody exactly what they wanted. But then they realised they have to do it 52 times a year. And so now they’re catching up. But yeah, I can’t say we because you said what was I doing? I thought that was reason for concern. And it’s not concern of ‘Oh, God, there goes the neighbourhood, roll up the shutters’. It’s just like, ‘Okay, we ain’t the only player in the game anymore,’” said James.

Whilst AEW would enjoy a win in the so-called Wednesday Night Wars against WWE NXT, the AEW product has entered a somewhat cool state since mid-2023, with ticket sales slower than in the past.

H/T: ITRWrestling