The Rock's last opponent explains why it's better to perform for AEW crowds over WWE crowds
The Rock's last opponent Erick Redbeard, who has not appeared in a wrestling ring in over half a year, has recently talked about arguably the top two promotions as of today and what it is like working and competing under each. Formerly known as Erick Rowan of the Wyatt Family, Redbeard was with the Stamford-based promotion for over a decade until he was released in 2020. He would go on to make appearances in the independent circuit and with AEW.
The former tag team champion has faced a multitude of icons in his career, including The Rock. In 2016, they faced off in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania. This became a piece of history as the match between the two lasted only six seconds.
Seven years after his match with The Rock, speaking to Joseph Galizia of Wrestling Headlines, Redbeard detailed how he felt during his almost a decade-long association with WWE and how at times, he lost that spark for competing, and how when he appeared on AEW, he felt that fire light up once more.
"And sometimes you have this "revitalized outlook" and like, 'oh, they're giving me promo time.' This is like pumping me up and wants me to, you know, explore new avenues of like how to 'get over.' And at times you'll be given a storyline and they say, 'don't talk' and 'do this thing that makes no sense.' And it's not challenging and it obviously doesn't like give you that adrenaline when you go out in front of the crowd that you should be having," Redbeard said.
He then went on to talk about how AEW brought back the spark he longed for.
"So then fast forward to AEW for me it's, it's different because like I'd been gone for so long on a big stage to come back and there's an arena full of people and it's not just an empty warehouse... So in that aspect, when I went to AEW it kind of lit a fire under my b**t." [H/T wrestlingnews.co]
@AEW @ErickRedBeard Erick Redbeard is gonna be a GAME CHANGER in AEW!
#AEWRampage https://t.co/yL4l0VupnR
WWE veteran thinks The Rock doesn't want certain family members to hit the TV screens just yet
On Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the veteran talked about Ava Raine, The Rock's biological daughter, who is currently in NXT.
He talks about how it may be possible that The Great One would push her back a little regarding her exposure just to protect their name in the business.
It has always been a topic of the comparison of how superstars are treated between AEW and WWE, and with Redbeard describing his level of motivation for his two personas in two promotions; it adds to the narrative that a lot of superstars love being in All Elite Wrestling.
How do you feel about his stories regarding being on both promotions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.