AEW News: Batista says AEW is not 'legitimate competition' for WWE

What's the story?

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, while promoting his new movie Stuber, Batista said that AEW is not legitimate competition for WWE.

In case you didn't know...

As some may know, Batista recently wrestled his last match in WWE when he had a No Holds Barred Match with Triple H at WrestleMania 35. Batista had said, in the past, that he always wanted his last match to be against Triple H and WWE granted him his wish.

Like The Rock and John Cena, Batista has found success on the silver screen. His role as Drax The Destroyer in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy made him a household name. While Batista was big in the world of wrestling, it's safe to say that being a movie star has given him mainstream success.

The heart of the matter

As mentioned above, Batista gave an interview alongside his co-star, Kumail Nanjiani, to promote their upcoming movie, Stuber. Chris Van Vliet eventually brought up AEW during the interview when he referred to them as legitimate competition. Here's how Batista responded.

I don't see it as legitimate competition. I see it as competition, which is great. There should always be competition, but until they produce one of their own major stars, actually have a production as big as WWE. I mean WWE has already got the next three generation of superstars because they have NXT camps all over the world. They're so far ahead of the game, that I don't see any real competition... not even close.

Batista reiterated that competition is good and he does support them.

You can watch his comments at the 5:30 mark in the video.

What's next?

Batista's points are well noted. He is right that WWE is far ahead and that AEW has a lot of ground to cover before giving them a run for their money. It will be interesting to see what AEW can produce in the months ahead.