John Cena may not take the time to watch AEW but he does realize the importance of competition.

Many consider Cena to be a WWE mainstay. While Cena has transitioned into the world of Hollywood, he’ll still attend a WWE event whenever he’s free to do so. “The Doctor of Thuganomics” knows that AEW exists and feels it benefits everyone in the wrestling industry.

John Cena made an appearance on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast and he revealed that he hasn’t been watching AEW TV.

“I haven’t watched AEW.”

With that said, he explained why AEW’s existence is a good thing for WWE or any other promotion.

“Competition brings out the best in us. For all time, going out there as a performer, I wanted to do the best I could possibly do and set the tone for wanting to be the best show between Raw and SmackDown and certainly have eyes on the segments I was on. I was fueled by a sense of internal competition. Not knowing what it’s like now to be in a market with a lot of different options, there are a lot of places to watch sports entertainment. That would only, for me, fuel me even more to be the best I can be.”

There was a time when WWE had its NXT brand go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite. AEW consistently had better ratings so WWE moved NXT to a different night and gutted HHH’s vision of the brand.

WWE is well-established and has been around for decades. It is still successful today. The company brings in a lot of money thanks to deals with the likes of FOX, USA Network, and Saudi Arabia.

Still, it’s good for wrestlers in the United States to know that WWE isn’t the only company. AEW’s existence also benefits top wrestlers who want to test free agency. Now, popular stars nearing the end of their contracts in either promotion can potentially start a bidding war.