Batista Doesn’t See AEW As Legitimate Competition To WWE, But Supports Them

Batista speaks on the landscape of professional wrestling.

The newly retired Batista doesn’t figure to get in the ring again after his WrestleMania 35 loss to Triple H, but isn’t exempt from sharing his thoughts on the changing environment of wrestling. When speaking to Chris Van Vliet of WSVN-TV, Batista said that he’s happy that the upstart All Elite Wrestling is around, but that he doesn’t see it as on par as far as competition.

“I don’t see it as legitimate competition. I see it as competition, which is great, there should always be competition but until they actually produce one of their own major stars, until they have a production that is as big as WWE. I mean WWE already has the next three generations of superstars because they have NXT camps all over the world now, they’re so far ahead of the game that I don’t see any real competition. Not even close,” said Batista. “I believe competition is really good, especially in sports entertainment. I support them.”

Earlier this year, Batista was linked to All Elite Wrestling as the company looked to establish a roster, but he ended up finishing his career in WWE instead. In the interview with Van Vliet, Batista said he’s open to appearing on the show or Hall of Fame, but will never wrestle again.

You can see Batista’s full conversation with Chris Van Vliet above, and check out his channel for dozens of other wrestling interviews.