Paul Heyman doesn't mind praising AEW.
Heyman has ties to many wrestlers in AEW, most notably CM Punk, who he managed and feuded with during Punk's time in WWE. Heyman has previously commented on Punk's return to wrestling, saying he's looking forward to what Punk does "when the novelty wears off."
Speaking to Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media podcast, Heyman gave his explanation as to why he doesn't mind talking about AEW in interviews.
"I have no problem putting AEW over if AEW does things that's worth being put over. I don't live in a bubble. I would also offer to anybody that wonders why I would b so willing to put over the competition...if you look at WrestleMania and you look at the fact that over the course of these two days, WWE has sold more tickets, and I have to call the two nights one event, we sold more tickets to this event, this WrestleMania than any other event in WWE history. Combine the two nights. With that in mind, and the spectacle that this show will be, and you combine that with the worldwide publicity that it's going to garner and the fact that the entire industry is focused on what's going to happen at WrestleMania and therefore what comes out of WrestleMania, I would argue the case that I could sit here and praise AEW all day long, they can't match what we're about to do [at WrestleMania]. Until they are in a position to match what we do [at WrestleMania], I'm not that concerned with praising the competition because they are still a long way away from what we do and our level of success and our market dominance. Do I watch AEW? of course I do, but I also watch everything else that's out there as well. If I can get my hands on Buenos Aires Championship wrestling, I'd watch it. if I can get my hands on Antarctica All-Star Wrestling, if there is such a thing, I'd watch it. I watch anything to do with this industry," he said.
Heyman compared him watching everything to a Coca-Cola executive keeping up with every other soft drink on the market as he always wants to be tapped in to what is going on in the industry.
Elsewhere during the interview, Heyman revealed that he signed a long-term deal with WWE in 2021. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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