Conrad Thompson isn’t backing down from his Roman Reigns criticism, and now he’s pushing back hard on the idea that he keeps mentioning the OTC just to chase views.
Thompson previously called Reigns overrated and even labeled him an “industry plant,” which eventually made its way back to Roman. Reigns then accused Thompson of using his name for views during his appearance on Club Shay Shay, where he laughed off the criticism and suggested Conrad knew exactly what he was doing by attaching himself to Roman’s name.
Speaking to ALLCITY Wrestling, Thompson made it clear that he still stands by what he said, but insisted he isn’t trying to manufacture some personal feud with Reigns.
“I don’t have, I’m not looking to be in a pissing contest with Roman. I shared my opinion, and he and others have discredited and said, ‘Well, he’s irrelevant. Who cares about him?’”
Thompson then explained why Reigns keeps coming up during his media appearances. According to Conrad, he isn’t walking into interviews looking for ways to bring Roman into the conversation. Other people keep asking him about it.
“The reason this came up last week is I did three media appearances, including Ariel Helwani, and I was asked about it, just like you guys asked me about it. I wouldn’t be a good guest if I didn’t give you the answer that you’re looking for. You asked me the question, I gave the answer. I’m not trying to out here look for clicks.”
That directly addressed Reigns’ recent claim that people know using his name gets attention because he is a “metric mover.”
Reigns also told fans to look at Thompson’s background and the people he is associated with. Conrad said he wasn’t even sure what Roman was trying to imply and pointed toward some very obvious WWE connections in his life.
“That’s the way Roman classified it, ‘Oh, he’s trying to look for clicks. Look who he’s associated with.’ Well, does he mean Bruce Prichard, the head of WWE Creative, or does he mean my sister-in-law, the most decorated WWE woman of all time?”
Thompson also brought up his friendship with Cody Rhodes, but stressed that his relationships extend all over the wrestling business.
“Like, who is he saying that I’m associated with? I don’t work for AEW. I am friends with Cody, but I’m friends with half of the locker room. I’m not going to name their names because they don’t need to get drug into this.”
He then rejected the idea that his Roman criticism is coming from some kind of company loyalty. Thompson described himself as “Switzerland” when it comes to WWE and AEW and said he has never built his platform around blindly siding with one promotion.
“But these are the accusations that you see online, and it’s like, ‘Wait a minute. What?’ I have been Switzerland and cool to everyone for all time. As long as I’ve been doing this, I’ve not picked a side and said, ‘I like this company and I don’t like that company.’”
For Conrad, the formula is much simpler.
“That’s not the way my brain works. I watch what I like, and I talk about what I like, and I don’t talk about what I don’t like.”
Thompson also pointed out that he hasn’t spent all of his time trashing Reigns. He praised Roman’s SummerSlam performance and called his match the best of the night, but that didn’t stop him from saying he was ready for something different creatively.
“But I said after SummerSlam, Roman Reigns had the match of the night, but I’m ready for something new. And that ruffled a lot of feathers.”
That brought Thompson right back to Roman’s claim that he was throwing his name around for views.
“So Roman thinks I bring his name up for clicks. That’s not true. Ariel Helwani brought his name up. You brought his name up. I didn’t bring his name up.”
Conrad then decided to turn Reigns’ logic around on Shannon Sharpe, since Sharpe was the person who brought Thompson’s comments up to Roman in the first place.
“But it does make me wonder, by that same method, does that mean Shannon Sharpe said my name to get clicks? That’s how silly it is. We both know that that’s not why Shannon said my name. He was looking to create good content, just as you were when you asked the question.”
None of that means Thompson has changed his actual opinion of Reigns.
He still doesn’t believe Roman belongs on wrestling’s Mount Rushmore and said there is a big difference between acknowledging someone’s success and putting them among the absolute greatest of all time.
“I don’t have a problem with Roman Reigns, but I’m also not going to buy that he’s on the Mount Rushmore and one of the all-time GOATs. He’s not. He did his job.”
Thompson even compared Reigns to John Cena when talking about their ability to make money and move merchandise for WWE. He gave Roman full credit for being a major business success, but that still isn’t enough to change where he personally ranks him.
“But I also don’t hear people say John Cena’s on the Mount Rushmore. And I’m saying, if that’s the brush, if that’s the group he’s lumped in with, boy, it’s still hugely successful. Are you kidding me? Like, John Cena and Roman Reigns are all-time merch movers, money makers for WWE. I have no doubt of that, but I’ve still never seen a Roman Reigns shirt in the wild.”
Conrad clearly has no plans to walk back his Roman Reigns take just because the OTC fired back. He insists he isn’t chasing Roman for attention, isn’t picking sides in the WWE-AEW war and isn’t interested in turning this into some personal beef. He just thinks Roman Reigns gets ranked higher historically than he deserves, and he’s standing on that.
What do you think about Conrad Thompson’s response after Roman Reigns accused him of using his name for clicks? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
