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Jim Ross on Why AEW Isn’t Competition to WWE, What Happened to Attitude Era-Level Audiences

July 11, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Jim Ross Goldenboy AEW Fyter Fest Image Credit: AEW

– Jim Ross discussed the idea of AEW being any sort of competition and where the Attitude Era wrestling fans went on the latest Steve Austin Show. The former WWE, now AEW commentator shot down the idea that the new promotion can be considered competition at this point, simply due to how much of a head start WWE has on every promotion. Highlights from the discussion are below, along with the full podcast:

On where the wrestling audience went after the Attitude Era: “They lost interest. And nothing changed, there’s nothing new, compelling, nothing fresh. It was the same thing. And I’m not knocking Monday Night Raw, but look, they’re always gonna get the first knock if you want to perceive it as such, because they will always be the biggest dog in the yard.”

On the “competition” between AEW and WWE: “I get a kick out of some of these amateur analysts, armchair analysts, that want to bring up, ‘Well, it’s gonna be competition.’ ‘Oh, AEW’s gonna be great competition with WWE.’ Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Right now? Maybe someday, they’ll be a competitor. But WWE’s got such a long head-start on everybody. They’ve got that global footprint. You know, it’s a publicly-traded company, they’ve got money! They’ve got huge money from these TV deals. Nobody’s gonna catch WWE, and that should not be anybody’s goal. It sure as hell isn’t mine. I don’t care what they do, I hope they do well. I’ve got friends that work there, and they made me a lot of money and I’m very blessed. But I don’t care man, how they do. It’s how we do [that matters]!”

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

article topics :

AEW, Jim Ross, WWE, Jeremy Thomas