— Bryan Danielson admits that he doesn’t fully understand WWE’s approach to counter-programming AEW and would like some clarity on the reasoning behind it.
In recent months, WWE has scheduled NXT pay-per-view events on the same dates as AEW pay-per-views and has announced that WrestlePalooza will take place on the same day AEW had slated for All Out.
Speaking on the “Kairouz Bros” podcast, Danielson was asked about the strategy and said he’d genuinely like to know what drives those decisions. He added that he doesn’t believe WWE views AEW as an actual threat, which makes the timing choices all the more puzzling to him.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On not understanding the decision: “I’m just curious, like, what the people who are making these decisions, what they’re thinking, right? In the sense of like, ‘Oh okay, this AEW thing, it’s a real danger to our billion-dollar business.’ That can’t be it. AEW existing and being this challenger brand, and being as successful as we’ve been, has changed the landscape for wrestling, for the wrestlers themselves. Wrestlers are being paid more now than ever from a sports rights perspective. So, for example, in most major sports in the United States, the players get anywhere between 40 to 50% of the revenue. WWE was paying their wrestlers nowhere close to that. Now, keep in mind, they’re still not paying anywhere close to that, but they do have to pay more, because if they don’t, the talent is going to leave and go to AEW. AEW does pay that 40 to 50% of their revenue to their wrestlers, you know, despite making much less money. I mean we still, our TV rights deal was incredible, but we’re still the challenger brand catching up on however many years WWE has.”
On AEW’s value as a challenger brand to WWE: “It’s interesting because we’re, we’re not at the point of being a threat. It’s one of the things that people who really crave power and a lot of money play these weird games that I don’t understand. I don’t understand, it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna run all the competitors that might be competitive with us out of this business.’ Why? It’s good. It’s good for the wrestlers. It’s good for the wrestlers, both in AEW and in WWE, it’s good for them. If AEW wouldn’t have started, would Cody Rhodes be where he is right now? No, they have a megastar because AEW exists. Would CM Punk ever have come back? Probably not.
“I would be really interested, and I’m not saying this in the sense of like, ‘Oh, those evil people. Because when you think of corporations, they are not people, right? In the United States, I don’t know if it’s like this in Australia, but corporations have been determined as like, legally as people, they have the same rights as people. It’s just like, ‘Wait, what?’ But they’re not people, right? So that these corporations make these decisions, but the people in WWE, a lot of people I know, are great people, right? So it’s like, I’d be interested to know, okay, what’s the decision-making process in this?”
— WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long has praised the recent U.S. Title change, calling the new champion more than deserving of the honor.
On a recent episode of WWE SmackDown, Sami Zayn captured the U.S. Championship from Solo Sikoa, marking the beginning of his first reign with the title.
During an appearance on the “Wrestling Time Machine” podcast, Long explained why he believes the decision to put the title on Zayn was a smart one. He said,
“I just think they’ve been waiting for the right time to do something with him [Sami Zayn], and they went with it, and I think this is right for Sami. I really like him. I think he’s a hard worker with a great attitude. You can look at his performance on TV and tell that whatever they [WWE] want him to do, he’ll do it; he doesn’t care. That’s what you do in this business – you give your life to it. And Sami Zayn, I believe, has done that.”
Zayn, a former four-time Intercontinental Champion and Tag Team Champion, is now just one title away from completing WWE’s Grand Slam.
His first defense of the U.S. Title came against John Cena last week, though the match ended in a no-contest after Brock Lesnar attacked both competitors.
— Booker T recently weighed in on Ronda Rousey, suggesting that the former UFC star showed disrespect toward the wrestling world with her recent remarks.
Rousey recently criticized her WWE tenure, calling her 2018 feud with Alexa Bliss “f***ing ridiculous.” She claimed the rivalry happened solely because Bliss was a merchandise draw, overlooking the fact that Bliss was the RAW Women’s Champion at the time.
On a recent episode of his “Reality of Wrestling” podcast, Booker T reflected on Rousey’s time in WWE, two years after her departure. He said.
“Ronda Rousey is another one, man. I think the wrestling world opened the doors to her, and she just spat in the face of professional wrestling. That’s what she’s done. You know, it’s a reason why people don’t like her, you know?”
Booker T added that WWE talent rarely have positive things to say about Rousey, and the same goes for her former UFC peers. He added,
“I mean, I don’t hear any of her old comrades in the UFC saying anything good about Ronda Rousey, man… nobody cares about Ronda Rousey but herself.”
He concluded by noting that while Rousey clearly holds herself in high regard, he doesn’t think anyone else shares the same view.
