JBL rates AAA as the best show in wrestling at the moment, and says the way WWE has folded it in is the exception to a long record of getting this wrong.
Speaking on Something To Wrestle, where he is co-hosting in Bruce Prichard’s absence, JBL was asked about the growing crossover between the two companies.
“I’m thrilled with this. I thought this was fantastic, and it shows you, obviously, that one owns the other. So it’s not like they don’t work together. But you see stuff like this and you realise the integration is great.”
“WWE has never been great about integrating different territories into them. They’ve always screwed it up. That’s because of an old mindset, which we talked about a bunch with Vince, and for very good reason. But now I think what they’re doing with AAA is fantastic.”
He said he has some visibility of how it is being run.
“I watch that show and I get feedback when I go around, and people tell me how much they love the show. Jeremy Borash and Undertaker are doing a hell of a job. I’m glad I’m privy to a lot of stuff that they do from behind the scenes, so I can hear what they’re saying, hear what they’re talking about. They do an unbelievable job. They’re putting a product together that’s just fantastic. I think it’s the best show in wrestling.”
He was clear about the advantages it has.
“There’s some things to it that help a lot. For one, you got characters that most of North America has not seen a lot of, so you got new characters, which is pretty cool. Those characters are starting to get integrated a lot into Raw and SmackDown, so it gives them extra content.”
“But also, Raw and SmackDown, WWE got like 50 something hours of television a week they’ve got to do. That’s tough. What they’re trying to do is really, really tough. AAA have an hour a week, and that’s actually much easier. But even though it might be an easier format to have, Jeremy and Taker are doing an unbelievable, outstanding job.”
He also had a view on how he would have handled the general manager job Rey Mysterio holds.
“As much as I wanted to be general manager, I was going to give tacos and beer away for free on the roadside stands. People would love me for that. I’m the GM of the Mexican show. Of course I’m going to give stuff away for free.”
WWE acquired AAA in 2025. Mysterio serves as General Manager, with The Undertaker running creative alongside Jeremy Borash. Calaway confirmed the head of creative title himself on Insight with Chris Van Vliet this month, describing a brief to make AAA look nothing like NXT, Raw or SmackDown.
AAA talent are now spread across WWE television, including in the eight-man tournament to determine Roman Reigns’ challenger in Mexico City, one round of which takes place on AAA’s own show. TriplemanÃa 34 runs on September 11 and 13.
