ECW legend compares AEW to Paul Heyman's old promotion

Blue Meanie recently made his first appearance at AEW. He seems mighty pleased with the promotion since he compared it to ECW, a promotion where he was popular.

Blue Meanie is a Philadelphia native. As is the norm in Tony Khan's company, they place great emphasis on highlighting hometown heroes. During AEW Dark: Elevation, he walked out to a great ovation during a match between Crowbar and Joey Janela.

In an interview with Inside The Ropes, the former WWE star explained that while he might be jumping the gun in predicting All Elite Wrestling's culture after just one show, the backstage atmosphere is similar to Paul Heyman's old promotion.

“Everybody in the locker room, ECW, we all had the goal of putting on the best show, and there was a spirit to it where you would enjoy showing up to work. AEW, that feeling backstage is… everybody seemed happy. Everybody was there for each other watching each other’s matches. Everybody’s around the monitor watching the show like we did in ECW."

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Blue Meanie said many positive things about AEW

The former ECW Superstar called All Elite Wrestling a great place to work in, stating that while the atmosphere was professional, there was a casual air about it as well.

“It was the anniversary of Eddie Van Halen’s passing the day that we did it and, as tribute, I wore a little Eddie Van Halen shirt underneath my button up shirt and production. People were like, ‘Oh, cool shirt.’ We’d just sit there and talk music, you know, just very casual but professional atmosphere and definitely a great place to work.”

AEW has given many hometown heroes some great moments. Britt Baker was presented as a star in Pittsburgh. Lance Archer and Ricky Starks lifted championships in their hometown of Texas. Brian Pillman Jr. and Jon Moxley stood tall when the company toured Cincinnati. Even a bonafide heel like MJF was treated like a megastar when the company went to Long Island.

If Blue Meanie's words are anything to go by, it won't be surprising to see the promotion put out stellar matches repeatedly because of the camaraderie between superstars.