There were many different talking points that followed the unexpected ratings news that when they went head-to-head on Fri., Oct. 15, AEW Rampage on TNT matched or beat WWE SmackDown on FS1 among the demographic groups advertisers are said to pay the most attention to. Among them was this item about how what each show was airing from 10:15 - 10:30pm ET performed among 18 - 49 year olds:
Ruby Soho vs. Bunny tied Roman & Lesnar, both at 0.23.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) October 18, 2021
Mostly, it’s surprising that a midcard women’s match from AEW would perform at the same level as WWE’s (very well executed) top storyline under any circumstances. That Roman Reigns would be involved is really remarkable, as the Tribal Chief has done a fair share of publicly downplaying the threat posed by Tony Khan’s roster. That’s something All Elite wrestlers weren’t about to let slip by.
Ruby Soho, one of the women whose segment tied Reigns & Brock Lesnar’s, subtly referenced Roman’s various comments about who is and isn’t moving the needle in wrestling today.
— Ruby Soho (@realrubysoho) October 18, 2021
The never-shy Chris Jericho was more direct, and picked a more recent quote from the Head of the Table...
Ruby should meet Roman at the club…
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) October 18, 2021
The wrestler Soho faced, The Bunny (aka Allie), chose to simply hype her own game. Lots of fans used that to thrown one of Reigns’ catchphrases back at him:
Acknowledge Her @WWERomanReigns. https://t.co/xXevIiD6br
— TooDizarkMizark (@Toodarkmark1) October 19, 2021
Neither Roman or his counsel has replied.