"I do not give a s**t what company he works for" - 5 AEW stars who have praised WWE Superstars
Despite the competition between their two promotions, a few WWE Superstars have praised AEW stars in the past few years. John Cena, for example, complimented Max Caster for his rapping skills. Sasha Banks also expressed her fascination with Chris Jericho a couple of years ago.
Likewise, a few AEW stars have also praised some of their WWE counterparts. One AEW wrestler acknowledged Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as "the top guy." Another called a multi-time World Champion "the greatest ever."
Here are five AEW stars who have praised WWE Superstars.
#5. Eddie Kingston praised several WWE Superstars
Nearly two decades ago, Eddie Kingston kicked off his wrestling career. He competed in several promotions before joining AEW in July 2020. The Mad King has since become a fan-favorite in Tony Khan's company.
Although he works for AEW, Kingston could not hide his admiration for WWE's Tribal Chief Roman Reigns during an interview with the Pro Wrestling Illustrated podcast. The 40-year-old praised the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, calling him "the top guy."
"Yeah [I like Roman Reigns' mic work]. I love the high chief, whatever the gimmick is, head of the table — there you go, 'Head of the table' I think. Yeah, of course. That's why he's the top guy, that's why he's the guy. There's a reason for it. If he could not speak or capture you emotionally, he would not be up there," Kingston said.
The AEW star also praised a few other WWE talents, including another former Universal Champion.
"Of course I love all the dudes in The New Day. They're entertaining, they can all talk. Kevin Owens, he's a talker, he can go. There's so many good people out there. Sami Zayn's another one. I could go through the whole roster and tell you a lot of them are great talkers and they can go." (H/T: WrestlingHeadlines).
Kingston last competed on AEW All Out's pre-show when he defeated NJPW's Tomohiro Ishii via pinfall.
#4. Miro praised John Cena
John Cena se encontró con Miro (Rusev) en la premiere de The Suicide Squad.
Dos viejos rivales.
#WWE #TheSuicideSquad
#JohnCena https://t.co/8QQfIjsbbp
Before joining AEW in 2020, Miro (fka Rusev) spent nearly a decade working for WWE. During his time in the Stamford-based company, the 37-year-old shared the ring with John Cena several times.
In an interview with The Kurt Angle Show earlier this year, the current AEW star praised the 16-time World Champion.
"John is the best. John is absolutely the best. I learned so much from him even to this day. Once again, he's such a teacher. He's so good and he's one of those guys, 'What's your four best moves?' That's what I learned from him that I utilize to this day. He asks you that not because — He just wants to highlight you in the best spots, in the best lighting," he said. (H/T: FirstSportz)
Miro recently teamed up with Sting and Darby Allin to defeat House of Black at AEW All Out last Sunday.
#3. CM Punk praised Roman Reigns
CM Punk spent about nine years in WWE before the company released him from his contract in 2014. During his last year in the Stamford-based company, The Best in the World shared the ring a few times with Roman Reigns.
Despite now working for AEW, Punk praised The Tribal Chief on his character development in an interview with the Wrestling Perspective Podcast. He also did not waste the opportunity to criticize WWE.
"I think a lot of times the best stuff, you've also kind of just gotta go with the flow with it. I'll use Roman Reigns as an example, because if we're talking about good stuff, if the WWE does anything good, I mean, this is the one thing that they're doing right right now, right? Is Roman Reigns. His character work, his in-ring stuff. It's all great but I feel like, classic WWE, they're always five years, 10 years late. This is something that they should've done originally, because they tried so hard to get this guy over as a babyface and they gave him X amount of 'Mania main events. Like, 'This is the guy, this is the guy, this is the guy,' and he never really had his moments until now," Punk said.
Punk has been a regular competitor in AEW since August 2021. He recently defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at All Out. However, Tony Khan stripped him of the title on the latest episode of Dynamite due to his involvement in a backstage fight with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.
#2. ROH Pure Wrestling Champion Daniel Garcia praised Triple H
A few months before officially signing with AEW in October 2021, Daniel Garcia competed twice on NXT and 205 Live. Although he now works for the competition, the 24-year-old is still a fan of WWE's Chief Content Officer Triple H.
Speaking on The Battleground Podcast, Garcia showered The Game with praise, revealing that he was fascinated by him growing up.
"Triple H, I'm a huge fan of. I think he's one of the greatest ever. He was one of my favorites when I was a kid. He's offered us so many great memories that are kind of like my first memories in wrestling. Like the thumbs up, thumbs down, that kind of stuff is the first stuff that I remember watching when I was a kid. That really made me and my family really strong wrestling fans in that area. I mean, it was hard not to watch Triple H during that time. He was plastered all over the WWE product. He was the franchise player," he said. (H/T: WrestlingNews.co)
The AEW star also disclosed that he was happy that Triple H is now leading the creative process in WWE following Vince McMahon's retirement.
"I think it's great that he's taken over. I mean, I don't know what their plans are over there, but I think it's great. I think it's going to give a lot of independent wrestlers great opportunities in professional wrestling at a very high level, and I think that's good for everybody. More valid places for wrestlers to work is going to create a lot more opportunities for everybody around, and it's going to create a lot more competition. I think healthy competition, maybe even some unhealthy competition, is good for everybody," he explained. (H/T: WrestlingNews.co)
Garcia recently captured the ROH Pure Wrestling Title after defeating former champion Wheeler Yuta on the latest episode of Dynamite.
#1. QT Marshall praised Cody Rhodes
::AEW X PROPOINT FIGHTING::
Always good to see Michael Cuellari aka QT Marshall and Cody Rhodes! I always enjoy when my two favorite worlds collide, karate and Pro Wrestling! #allelitewrestling #prowrestling #karate #martialarts #mma #WWE https://t.co/6WDGiKYNc6
Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall worked together in AEW for a few years. However, Rhodes left Tony Khan's company earlier this year to return to WWE. Nevertheless, the two wrestlers are still friends.
Last June, Rhodes competed against Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell with a torn pectoral muscle. After the bout, which The American Nightmare won, many wrestlers praised him for his dedication to the business, including AEW's QT Marshall.
"I do not give a s**t what company he works for, to go out there and have that match, with that injury… that was inspiring. Proud of my friend!" Marshall tweeted.
While Rhodes is currently out of action due to his injury, Marshall is an active competitor in AEW. He last competed on September 2nd when he lost to Ricky Starks on Rampage.