Big E recently commented on how AEW has impacted the wrestling business. According to the WWE Champion, competition forces everyone to step their game up. During a recent interview with The Illuminerdi, Big E also said that having AEW around gives more wrestlers a place work if they don’t happen to fit with what WWE is looking for.

“I know, from a fan perspective, a lot of people would prefer that I come in here and trash talk everyone in AEW and stir the pot,” Big E told . “But that’s not my style.”

“I think it forces us to raise our game,” Big E continued. “If you watch their shows, and you see rabid fans/people losing their minds and people loving those shows. It should make us want to say, ‘Yo! We want to be dominating them, we want to step our game up, we want to put on the better show.’”

AEW has also provided a new place for talent to work while earning major league-level money. It also provides wrestlers with more leverage in contract negotiations with other companies.

“I think it’s just also very good we have men and women who may not fit here in WWE, who may not want – whatever it is,” Big E explained. “But now they have a place they can go. And they can wrestle. They can make money, they can live their dream, they can be on TV, so I think it’s great.”

The WWE Champion Big E will be in action tonight on WWE Raw. He’ll face Kevin Owens in a non-title match. His WWE Championship reign currently sits at 77 days. During his run, he has defended the title 3x (not including house shows). Big E has defeated Bobby Lashley in a steel cage on RAW, Drew McIntyre at Crown Jewel, and most recently Austin Theory on last week’s edition of RAW.

The full interview with Big E can be viewed in the player below: