Road Dogg Says WWE Didn’t See Themselves In Battle With AEW: ‘We Probably Should Have’

Road Dogg says WWE did not consider themselves to be in a fight against AEW and says that was probably a mistake on their part. The WWE Hall of Famer worked backstage at WWE from 2014 until last year, when he stepped down from the co-lead writer of Smackdown position that he held since last early 2025. That of course includes the whole of AEW’s existence, which launched in 2019.

Road Dogg was asked on Busted Open Radio how AEW has changed things in WWE from a business aspect. He acknowledged that WWE has done things in order to keep talent away from AEW but added that WWE didn’t feel like they were in competition with AEW, which has allowed AEW to become stronger. You can see highlights below:

On WWE Handling Talent So As To Keep Them Away From AEW:

“Well look, it’s definitely a thing now, you know what I mean? Like, when it comes to renegotiation time, you’re gonna lock some people down that you don’t want to go there. But truth be told, I think there’s such a wide range of talents. I don’t watch Smackdown or Raw, or AEW or Collision or whatever for one talent. I feel like the rosters are such now that you’re gonna see a broad range of talent across the board, male and female.

“But look, it’s definitely a thing you’re gonna talk about now. And if Santos Escobar is gonna go to there and maybe make a difference, then you say, ‘Hey, maybe we’ve re-signed you for three years.’ And that’s — the difference is, I think the booking used to be about wrestling. And I think the bookings, maybe it’s always been about the money, and I just thought it was about the wrestling. But it just feels like it’s just all about the money now. And maybe that goes to what you’re saying is, the money, they can go over there and make some money too. So the money’s deciding everything. But I don’t know, man. It just feels like WWE right now, for me, was a money grab. And I don’t know, it didn’t feel right. I wanted to step away from that.”

On If WWE Felt Like They Were In a Battle With AEW:

“No, no, we didn’t, and we probably should have to be quite honest with you. But instead, I think it was looked at like, ‘That’s this other little money mark’s company,’ you know what I mean? I honestly think that’s how it was kind of looked at.

“And I would argue, however long we are now into their tenure, that was wrong to be looking at it that way. They’re still here, they’re still strong. I would argue they’re getting stronger. I would argue adding Mike Mansury to their team, who runs their truck now, was a huge step in the right direction. He’s a smart guy with good instincts. And look, it goes to more than two guys and a referee in the ring when you’re running a wrestling show. You got to have guys with good instincts, good feeling, good timing to hit the music when [it’s time]. There’s more things that go into a wrestling show than a lot of people want to give credit for.”

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