2 AEW stars who have taken a shot at Roman Reigns and 3 who have praised him

Roman Reigns has been the talk of wrestling circles for a while now. AEW stars have also spoken about the Universal Champion on several occasions.

Most have had good things to say about The Tribal Chief. Behind the scenes, Reigns is known as a great guy who is friends with many people. Meanwhile, some AEW stars have taken a shot at Roman Reigns.

However, most of these comments have been made without any ill-will. They only help increase competition in the industry, making things more interesting for the fans.

With that being said, look at the two AEW stars who have targeted Roman Reigns with their words, and the three who have praised him.

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#5. AEW EVP Cody Rhodes praised Roman Reigns

As the EVP of AEW, Cody Rhodes juggles his roles in the ring and behind the scenes. With an eye for talent, he is known as one of the most creative men in the industry.

Last year, Roman Reigns took a shot at AEW and said it would be “generous” to refer to the new promotion as competition to WWE. Instead of firing scathing words at the Universal Champion, Cody Rhodes had nothing but praise for Roman Reigns during an interview with Sport 1.

"[Roman] is very, very smart, he has WrestleMania main event under his belt, he has incredible talent. I think at the time, a lot of people were … I don't wanna say naive. People were turning away from it, but there's no turning away now. WWE's on a 49 year head start and I tip my hat for that. But what we're doing is to build upon what fans have been talking about for 20 years, what they want from a wrestling product and what perhaps wasn't delivered to them. We want to be the alternative. If that means stepping into competition, so be it. It's better to have competition, for me, for Roman, for everybody," Cody said.

Cody handled the situation very well and praised Roman Reigns as a top performer. The two men shared the ring a few times in WWE, and they might have a few more matches on a different stage.

#4. Chavo Guerrero targeted Roman Reigns after AEW All Out

In an interview with BT Sport, Roman Reigns claimed CM Punk was not the same level as many WWE legends. He doesn't believe CM Punk "moves the needle" like John Cena or Dwayne Johnson.

"Those statements are coming from bitter people, you know, who possibly thought they were better than they really were. When it comes down to it, CM Punk was not as good or as over as a John Cena. [He] wasn't as good or as over and moved the needle like The Rock. It just wasn't what it was," said Roman Reigns.

After CM Punk made his AEW debut at All Out, the entire landscape of pro wrestling changed. The internet erupted, and Chavo Guerrero wasted little time in targeting Roman Reigns.

Although Punk never responded to Reigns, Chavo took to Twitter to claim that the former indeed moved the needle at All Out, taking a shot at Roman's words.

"I gotta say that @CMPunk may have moved the needle a little last night for @AEW 😉👍🏼 #aew #allout #cmpunk #thingsarechanging", Chavo Guerrero tweeted.

Such playful shots have made the wrestling industry even more enjoyable. Chavo's cheeky remarks showed that AEW is ready to take on any challenge and prove itself right.

#3. Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho has been full of praise for Roman Reigns

AEW star Chris Jericho has had some good things to say about Roman Reigns over the years. Jericho is never afraid of praising his competition, respecting other wrestlers.

During an interview on Keepin It 100 with Konnan, Jericho claimed he has not kept up with what Roman Reigns is doing in the ring. However, he isn't shocked by The Tribal Chief's success.

“I haven’t [kept up] but I’ve been reading about it and it’s no surprise,” Jericho said. “When I was there in 2016 I worked with Roman basically all around the world. I was a heel, he was a babyface. It’s a no brainer there. You know what Roman is? I always said this and he’s doing it now, if you just drop the f**king script and just let him be him, he’s Cool Hand Luke man. He’s like the coolest cat. He’s a great guy. Just let him be him, and that’s what he’s doing now, obviously with a heelish slant, which is great. When he eventually turns babyface he’ll be even bigger than he is now, because he’s just a cool, cool guy. And now they’re letting him do all this stuff and it doesn’t surprise me that he’s killing it, because he’s that type of performer,” Jericho said.

Y2J has also spoken about the possibility of Roman Reigns working in AEW. He believes the current WWE Universal Champion would fit in nicely with the rest of the roster.

#2. AEW heel MJF targeted Roman Reigns for losing to Ruby Soho in ratings

Like Roman Reigns is playing the top heel character in WWE, MJF is working as a top heel in AEW. The 'Salt of the Earth' has stayed in character behind the scenes while taking shots at his colleagues and other wrestlers.

During an interview with Rasslin', MJF was asked about Roman Reigns. The AEW heel did not break kayfabe and took a shot right away.

"Roman Reigns lost in the key demographic to Ruby Soho. I think Roman Reigns is a hell of a performer, he really is. I think he's absolutely incredible. Am I better than him on the mic and in the ring? Sure. But I'm not gonna go out of my way and talk about him because I respect him. I respect what he does. I respect the hard work that goes into putting out that product that is WWE," MJF said.

MJF put himself over as a performer before claiming that he respected Reigns as a performer. The AEW star also said is a huge fan of The Tribal Chief.

Will fans watch MJF take on Roman Reigns? It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in a battle between the top heels.

#1. AEW World Champion Kenny Omega thinks Roman Reigns could have been Number 1

AEW star Kenny Omega landed the top spot in the PWI 500 rankings, while Roman Reigns scored second spot. Many WWE fans were unhappy with the rankings and believed their Tribal Chief had a better year than Omega.

Omega appeared on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated podcast with PWI Editor-in-Chief Kevin McElvaney and spoke about the scenario. He named a few wrestlers who could have bagged the top spot, including Roman Reigns.

“I’ve really stepped outside of my own comfort zone, and not only that, but everyone else stepped up their game too. It’s fantastic that I don’t feel like, no matter how I look at it, I didn’t run away with it. I don’t think I was number one by far. I think the best part about this year, especially, is you could have went in multiple directions and no one would be disappointed. I feel that, up until his unfortunate injury, number one could have been Will Ospreay. Number one could have easily been Shingo Takagi. Number one could have easily been Roman Reigns,” Omega said.

Not only did the AEW star show a lot of humility, but he also praised Roman Reigns’ year in the ring. He has also expressed his desire to face the Universal Champion one day to determine the real champion.