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The head-to-head battle between AEW and NXT effectively ended following the Black and Gold brand's move to Tuesday nights. A lot has been said about the 'rivalry between the two companies; however, how does the talent really feel?
Killian Dain, aka Big Damo, caught up with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta for an exclusive interview during which the recently released star revealed whether the NXT locker room watched AEW matches.
Big Damo stated that the talents don't buy into the so-called hostility between NXT and AEW. Dain highlighted that the wrestlers in WWE and AEW are friends in real life, and most have worked with each other in the past.
Dain revealed that the NXT locker room tuned into AEW programming to check out matches that gathered a lot of attention. The former Sanity member explained that NXT and AEW wrestlers share a professional rivalry that doesn't affect their off-screen relationship with one another.
Both rosters are driven by the common goal of producing the best professional wrestling product, and Dain noted how it benefits the industry as a whole.
Here's what Killain Dain said:
"Like, so, I think people would love [for] me to say it was this rivalry or whatever else, but the truth is, you know when we were going head-to-head if they had a particularly good match, we'd wanted to watch; we'd watch! You know what I mean? We'd be backstage in the locker room; we'll be like, 'Oh, such and such, let's see that.' A lot of [them] are our friends, [as is] with a lot of the guys on the roster," Dain revealed.
Killain Dain has worked with many current AEW stars, and he is glad to see them usher in a new era of wrestling:
"So yeah, sure, there is a rivalry so far as we wanted to do the best we could, we wanted to put on the best matches, and we felt that we had an incredible roster at NXT. There is not one person there, who has gone, 'F them' or anything like that because I shared locker rooms with maybe at least 50 percent of that roster. In fact, I'm probably underselling that; I'd say I've been at shows with about 75 percent of that roster; some of the guys I even trained with or people who have [been] trained by myself, you know, are on that roster," Big Damo added.
Killain Dain recalled growing up during the Monday Night Wars and how WWE's legendary clash with WCW took the business to a whole different level. While NXT and AEW's operations might not be to the same degree, the competition has boosted the motivation of the current crop of talent.
Dain also added that NXT stars would watch AEW matches on days when they weren't booked to compete.
"So for us, there was a professional rivalry so far as," Dain continued, "nobody wants to lose or anything like that, but at the same time, we knew it was great for the industry. We knew it was exactly what it was as us growing up watching, when it was WWF and WCW, maybe on a smaller scale, but for a lot of us, in the NXT locker room, it was a good way; an added motivation is probably the best way to put it. Listen, there's no denying, if there is a really cool match, and we're not doing something on the show that day, we'd be watching, you know what I mean because there were some crackers at the time."
Does Triple H watch AEW matches?
Keeping a close eye on a competitor is business 101, but does Triple H keenly follow the AEW product?
Killain Dain felt The Game was the best person to answer the question. While the former WWE star didn't have the correct answer, he did speculate about Triple H probably watching the taped AEW shows later, and we must say that's a pretty sound prediction.
"Well, I'd hardly be sitting with Triple H; I'd be in the locker rooms (laughs)," Killain Dain stated, "I don't know, you'd have to ask him, but I'm sure maybe not at the time, maybe the next day he'd be watching to see whatever else. I'm sure there are a lot more technical answers that he could answer, I'm assuming so?" said Dain
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Which side are you on, AEW or WWE? Do you have a specific preference, or watch what both companies have to offer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
