Wardlow Calls NXT Stars Joining AEW ‘Extra Motivation When Laying These Powerbombs’

Wardlow talks NXT stars in AEW and AEW winning the Wednesday Night War.

Wardlow is one of a handful of superstars AEW considers homegrown. In the three years that the company has been active, there are far more competitors with links to WWE and other brands on the roster than there are homegrown names.

Several of the names, including Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Keith Lee used to be at the top of NXT at a time when they were competing directly with AEW on Wednesday nights.

Speaking on the Wrestling Inc. Daily, Wardlow remarked on Keith Lee now being in AEW, saying that he’s just another name on the roster now and The War Dog will go through him.

“So what [laughs]. He’s just another body that I got to go through. I know he did great things elsewhere, but he’s here now, so I don’t care what your name is, I don’t care where you came from, you’re in my world now. If he can bring some new fans to the product, awesome. But things are a little different in AEW,” Wardlow said of Keith Lee.

Continuing on, Wardlow spoke about the overall idea of several top NXT Superstars joining AEW. For him, it’s just added incentive to make sure he maintains his spot and he has powerbombs ready for every last one of them.

“You know, acquiring someone like Adam Cole is huge for us. Now I will say, being an AEW original, these guys coming in from the other place and taking spots, that’s something that gives me just a little extra motivation when I’m laying in those powerbombs to remind everyone whose house it really is,” he said.

Speaking about the Wednesday night ratings competition between AEW and NXT from 2019-2021, Wardlow reflected on growing up a fan of the Monday Night War and said for him, it meant a lot to be a part of something similar.

“It hit me so big at the time,” he said. “When I grew up it was peak wrestling, it was the Monday Night Wars. What a time to be alive. What a time to be a fan. So to finally be in the business that I scratched and clawed for so long and it just happened to time up to where I am a part of a new age Wednesday Night War, it just – Manifestation is very real. How life works is mindblowing.”

Most recently, Wardlow became the face of the revolution and will get a TNT Championship match at St. Patrick’s Day Slam. Learn more here.

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