Cody Rhodes speaks to media ahead of the AEW on TNT debut!
Cody Rhodes says he'll never disparage NXT. Talks about the connection his family has with it. He thinks Kenny Omega was just having some fun and staying in character.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody thinks they can integrate Road To into AEW Dynamite. He says the draw with Darby Allin means unfinished business for the both of them.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody Rhodes says Sammy Guevara will be replacing him at AEW Full Gear if Guevara wins on Wednesday.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody says he doesn't use the "Cody Rhodes" name is because he liked being "The American Nightmare Cody" and getting one name over. WWE is not holding the name hostage, he just prefers being Cody and feels like he got the rub off the Rhodes name long enough. Will sometimes though
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody tells me there might not be an All Elite Wrestling if ROH and NJPW had offered he and Young Bucks dual contracts. However, he was so focused on All In that by the time it was over he was ready for the new promotion. He's glad they didn't offer the dual contracts now
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody says that the "40 percent of the roster" comment may have stemmed from him being bad at math. He says there's a lot of roster still left and put over the AAA partnership. Admits there are flavors of WCW Nitro, which had a lot of lucha influence.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody won't reveal what number they're targeting, but they want to appeal to the "several million people" that went away after the Monday Night Wars.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody is asked about diversity on the roster. He thinks they're doing a good job, but the work is never finished. Brandi has been seeking out diverse wrestlers for their product. He thinks African American representation is important for AEW
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
AEW is coming to the UK in 2020. No further details provided. He wants the show to feature plenty of homegrown talent. Cody puts over Kip Sabian as a star in the making.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody clarifies and says the roster is about 85 percent full for this initial run of Dynamite. He says they're focused on long term booking. He says there's a misconception that any disgruntled wrestlers from WWE can just text him and get a job. He wants to do the AEW crew justice
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody doesn't want members of the AEW roster to feel the way he did in WWE, underutilized while the company relies on nostalgia.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody puts over Kenny Omega bringing in all of the joshi wrestlers.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody says they're looking into about four or five big PPVs a year and maybe some other supplemental shows. Implies AEW's PPV after Full Gear will be on the west coast.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Great question about Cody creating match types, and if that will happen in AEW like Dusty did elsewhere. Cody wonders if he can just buy the War Games concept back. He mentions Casino Battle Royal. They have Bunkhouse Stampede and Battlebowl, but want to create their own too
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody says they're not living under a rock, they're going to be aware of the competition. They have to worry about themselves though. They were always going to be on TNT, says that NXT to USA was a reactionary move and that's not a negative. Says NXT can watch them.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody puts over WarnerMedia for promoting them to the level they have and the support that they've provided. Cody says having Dusty in his life who worked with Turner, performed, and produced and that helped him be ready for his job. He got to talk wrestling with him for 30 years
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody is sure a lot of things will come up that are a big challenge to him in his spot, but when it does, he leans on people like @mookieghana and their expertise. So far, Cody says he hasn't had a problem himself stepping back when he needs to.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
Cody says wins and losses aren't all that matters. He compares it to college football in that the quality of wins matters as well. There will be heat charts on how many times people lose to a certain move and the like.
— Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful.com TALL OF FAMER (@SeanRossSapp) October 1, 2019
