We’re often reminded that the professional wrestling world is a small one, and it just got a little smaller when recently released WWE star Ariya Daivari revealed that everyone at WWE talked about AEW.
He recently sat down with wrestlinginc.com and he shared some of went on behind the scenes as far as AEW was concerned, and even about some written and unwritten rules in the WWE.
Watching AEW
It’s long been know the WWE watches other promotions and it makes sense considering they’re always scouting for the next top guy they can sign to keep themselves strong and allegedly cut off a potential threat.
It was recently reported that Big E admitted they watch the Indies to see what moves they can use, such as him adopting Samoa Joe’s Yurinagi while Joe was in TNA/Impact Wrestling.
So it’s not surprising when Daivari said they watched AEW and other promotions.
All following quotes are from wrestlinginc.com.
“To me, AEW is doing pro wrestling, and that’s what the fans love. That’s what I love,” Daivari said. “That’s why I’ve really been liking it. They’ve been doing pro wrestling very, very well. [It was talked about in WWE] tons. Everybody was talking about, and it’s not necessarily just because it’s AEW, but I feel like people who really care about the job, they usually keep up with everything that’s going on.
“You’d be surprised that there are wrestlers who keep up with the independents and stuff like that. Most of the guys on 205 and NXT do that anyway because a lot of us are from the independents, so we still have a lot of friends out there. Me personally and all my close friends, we kept up with all the wrestling products.”
As far as pitching the ideas to the writing staff, Daivari admitted his reluctance to approach the powers-that-be with ideas they saw.
He also pointed out how/why he waited to speak about AEW or any friends going there until after he was released.
“I don’t think I would have ever went to Triple H or a writer and been like, ‘Hey, I saw this on AEW. Can we do this here?’ That’s usually more chatter amongst the boys,” Daivari noted. “When it came to the office, I usually didn’t mention AEW. After I got released, I sent out a tweet saying, ‘Dante and Darius, those two kids from Top Flight on AEW are doing really well.’ They’re good friends of mine.
“They’re Minnesota guys. They trained here, and when they got signed, I wanted to tweet out, ‘Hey, congratulations! I’m so happy for you guys. You deserve it, etc, etc.’ But part of me is like, ‘I really don’t think I should like acknowledge AEW because I know WWE can be kind of shi**y about it.’ So after I got released, that was one of the first tweets I put out there because I said I hate having to pretend that we don’t know these guys, and the thing is, a lot of people were kind of like, ‘Oh, that’s such a crazy rule.’ I don’t know if it’s an official rule. I doubt it is, but I don’t think it would help your career as a WWE wrestler if you’re tweeting about and congratulating the competition.”
Social media ethics
There have been plenty or rumors and accusations floating around about the WWE and how tight a grip they have on their talent, and he spoke on that and their policy that doesn’t sound as strict as rumor may have us believe.
“They told us very early on, when we first got hired, when we’re going over social media ethics, they just said, ‘If you have to think about it, don’t tweet it,’” Daivari revealed. “So that was something where I took a second. I was like, ‘Should I tweet this?’ And I was like, ‘Well, if I think about it, then maybe I shouldn’t,’ and it’s like I said, it’s super annoying because these are my friends.
“I just want to say congratulations to my friends, but you never know. All it takes is one person to get upset about it and then tell this person and tell this person and the whole story spirals out of control. You just try to avoid those situations as best as you can.”
He offered some great advice in not just the WWE but anywhere when it comes to what should be said or not. Sometimes, it’s better to avoid trouble.
As for Daivari, he said in the article that he’s looking forward to relaxing for the next 90 days and spending time with his girlfriend while being paid.
We wish him the best going forward and can’t wait to see where he lands when he can sign with a promotion.
What do you think about the WWE talking about AEW? Let us know in the comments below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!
