The comparison between the two is inevitable, and quite understandable. Not only are they both big, epic fantasy stories, but they were compared back in the 90s. The Wheel of Time was a phenomena, at least in the fantasy world. In a way, it essentialized the epic fantasies of the 80s, and turned it up to 11. GoT came out in 1995--the heart of Jordanmania--and offered a very different approach to the traditional, epic fantasy. It also became very popular, although not as popular as Wheel of Time - at least not until the HBO series came out.