Justin Roberts On The Differences Between AEW and WWE, Being Trusted and Not Micromanaged

– Justin Roberts spoke with Wrestling Observer Radio on the Jericho Cruise for an interview and discussed the big differences between WWE and AEW. Roberts spent 12 years with WWE before leaving in 2014, and has been with AEW since the start as the ring announcer for All In. He noted that the two companies are “completely different” and talked about how he’s trusted more in AEW to be himself and do what he thinks is best in his role.

Highlights from the discussion are below:

On the key difference between WWE and AEW: “In one word, it’s ‘Everything.’ Because everything is completely different. And you know, not saying anything on them. But just in our company, AEW, Tony Khan is a super-good guy who wants to put on this great show and has surrounded himself with great minds, great talent and takes such good care of us. Super-nice, wants us to have this balance of work and life. To go ‘Do this show on Wednesdays, it’s great. But then, go do what you do the rest of the week. And enjoy yourselves, and we’ll see you back next week.’ And we all hang out together after the show each week. Like, every week it’s a thing. We all hang out, we get to work. On Tuesday nights we’ll have a meeting. On Wednesday we’ll be together during the day. And they just make it such a fun atmosphere.”

On the executives trusting talent to do their jobs: “And it’s ‘Hey, if you think this is gonna be good, if you think this is gonna work. If this is your character, go out there and do it.’ And they just encourage you to be you and do what you think is right. And go out there, you have this flexibility, and you’re not worried about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing out there. You’re just going out there and trying your best. And everybody’s very supportive, and they just want to put on a good show.

“There’s no micromanaging, there’s no — I mean, I’ve asked Cody a couple times like, ‘Hey, I know you want me to just do this on my own, but do you have a preference if it’s this or that?’ And he just looks at me and goes, ‘Well, what do you think?’ And it’s like, ‘You do what you wanna do. I’m not gonna tell you how to do your job. You do what you think is right, and I’m sure it’s gonna be right.’ They trust you. That’s another thing. They trust you to do your job. It’s great, and I love it.”

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