Hernandez on Whether AEW Can Compete With WWE: ‘They Have Some Big Shoes to Fill’

– Impact Wrestling alum Hernandez appeared on VOC Nation’s Wrestling with History and discussed AEW’s rise, whether it can compete with WWE and more. You can check out highlights from the discussion below, plus the full audio:

On how much competition AEW can provide for WWE: “I have no idea, because the WWE is a machine. Everyone’s been programmed for years and years and years that that’s the place to watch, that’s the place to be. So I mean, AEW has some big, big shoes to fill. But I mean, they got a great start by having them be on TNT, so I mean, let’s see what happens … It’s very hard to say because like I said, most people are conditioned from four years old to watch WWE. So I think they have some big shoes to fill, especially since they cater to kids.”

On WWE’s advantages over AEW: “I mean, the WWE, they can pull so many rabbits out of out their hat, you know. They can pull Cena on TV, Undertaker on TV. Go back to the blasts from the past. So it’s hard from a wrestling standpoint and the athleticism and stuff like that. The new fans, the new generation, they’ll [be attracted] to that. I just think they have some big shoes to full unless they get some crossover from the old WWE guard.”

On whether he ever thought TNA had a shot of competing with WWE when they moved to Mondays: “No disrespect to any regime that we’re talking about, but when you decided to go against WWE on a Monday night, and you’re averaging a 1.1 to — let’s be generous, a 1.3 sometimes on a Thursday night. So you wanna be Billy Badass, ‘Let’s go head-to-head!’ And what did that get them? A 0.4. How quickly they went right back to Thursday.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling with History with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.