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All Elite Wrestling (AEW) was founded on January 1, 2019, at a time when many wrestling fans had grown frustrated with WWE storylines. Road Dogg, SmackDown's head writer in that era, recently opened up about his initial view of Tony Khan's AEW promotion.
AEW made an instant impact by recruiting several high-profile names, including Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks. Legendary commentator Jim Ross and former WWE Champion Jon Moxley also joined the company in the first half of 2019.
Road Dogg now works as WWE's Senior Vice President of Live Events. On his Oh You Didn't Know podcast, the 54-year-old said he no longer fears AEW like he did five years ago:
"I thought there was reason for concern, and it's not concern in like a, 'Oh god, there goes the neighborhood, roll up the shutters,'" Road Dogg stated. "It's just like, 'Okay, we ain't the only player in the game anymore.' And I think you fast forward five years and my feeling has reversed, and I think the feeling has reversed, that there is only one player in the game and the other player is in rehab!" [11:21 – 11:52]
Several backstage incidents have taken place in All Elite Wrestling in recent years. One of the most notable controversies centered around an altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at All In 2023. Punk was later fired by AEW before returning to WWE.
Road Dogg on AEW giving fans what they want
The podcast episode largely focused on the 2019 Royal Rumble, which took place in the same month that All Elite Wrestling launched. The event also occurred shortly after the McMahon family promised to give WWE fans what they wanted during a memorable in-ring promo on RAW.
Reflecting on that time, Road Dogg implied that it makes more sense to gauge success through television ratings rather than online opinions:
"When they started getting hot for a little while, it got even scarier a little bit. It was like, 'Oh, they are giving the fans what they want,' and I think the fans, the IWC, the Internet Wrestling Community, thinks they are the only fans out there, and I think the ratings prove there are more than just that on a weekly basis." [10:26 – 10:55]
Earlier this week, WWE announced that its flagship weekly show, RAW, will move to Netflix in January 2025.
What do you make of Road Dogg's remarks? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Oh You Didn't Know and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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