Cody Rhodes took part in a media call today ahead of All Elite Wrestling‘s debut in Atlanta tomorrow night. Full audio from the call is posted at the top of this page, with highlights below:
Jim Woodcock starts the call and hypes tomorrow’s show, the debut in Georgia and AEW’s 20th TNT broadcast. He notes the three-year extension with Warner, and previews Cody’s next two matches against Wardlow tomorrow and MJF at Revolution.
Cody Rhodes says he is thrilled to be performing in his hometown arena and notes his family’s history in the area. He can’t wait for Revolution but the energy in Atlanta is contagious and he hasn’t seen it like that for wrestling in a long time.
Cody asked about Bash At The Beach and the ‘legal issues’ w WWE over the name. He says sometimes the reports are accurate, and you might see another one of the trademarks he holds “wink, wink”. He loves the EVP group, he trademarks things his Dad had a hand in. He notes that his Mom controls his Dad’s estate and it all goes through her. He’s ‘heavily winking’ that we might see another name / WCW trademark.
Cody says he doesn’t like the word underrated, but if he has to pick someone, Jack Evans fits that bill. He says he would like a singles bout with him and he’s not sure Evans knows how much AEW values him.
Cody on Jeff Cobb’s status — it’s still in gestation. He works for AEW, NJPW, and hopes he pursues something long-term with them but doesn’t want it to impede on what other goals Cobb wants for himself. He wants to be transparent but needs to remain vague on it.
Cody on lessons learned so far — he says no pun intended but he likes to keep AEW’s inner circle a tight-knit one. He wants to be a leader and communicate every week and thinks it’s important. Things haven’t changed much from the mission they started with.
Cody on AEW’s return to Vegas — he hopes he’s not spoiling it, but AEW will load up that week with events during the week of Double Or Nothing and Dynamite. He didn’t go into detail on what events but hopes he can see Vegas as a long-term home.
Cody is asked about broadcast influencing free agency. He cites All In for people getting interested, but now ‘the revolution is real’ and he’s happy more people are interested in signing. The doors are still open, but they want fresh talent that can go bell-to-bell. Cody says it’s a real proud time to be a wrestler and the doors remain open.
Regarding a training school, he’s taken on more of a leadership role at ‘The Nightmare Factory’ Anthony Ogogo, Sadie Gibbs are training there. No affiliation to AEW other than him only. It could lead to something more official later, but it’s still his own thing.
Cody asked about the women’s division. Says they have a merit-based show. He wants to see Big Swole more, credits Britt Baker and Nyla Rose as getting over early. He asks people to be patient, and they are cultivating a great division. He says certain people want ‘woke’ points, but women’s wrestling does well and AEW wants it as a big part of her brand.
Cody talks about returning to Chicago. He says it hasn’t always been this ‘hotbed’ but now they have an identity. Cites Philly as a great crowd too. He says he’s a loyal guy and he’s always local to Chicago because of what they did for AEW.
Cody is asked about signing more men of color and if it’s still a priority. He says yes it is. He’s been scouting video of Chris Bey—points out it’s nothing official but they want the show to be more congruent with America and it’s still a priority.
Cody is asked about the broadcast rights to All In / ROH. He praises ROH for helping them with the event but isn’t sure it’s being actively pursued. He might be sounding romantic about it, but he lived it. The businessman in him should work on that. Cody says ROH does not own the name ‘All In’.
Cody is asked about putting the title on Nyla Rose, Val Venis’ comments about her. He calls Val the ‘Disco Inferno of WWE’ and isn’t sure anyone knows who Val is. Cody says they’ll never book him, and he thinks Val is looking for a booking. Cody says the best way to end this bigotry is to ‘stop hitting the ball back’ and giving people like that a platform. He also says Nyla Rose won the women’s championship “because she’s the best woman in AEW” and adds that it’s 2020 and everybody should love everybody.
Cody on TSN / coming to Canada – TSN is a great partner and talks about fond career memories in Canada. He hopes they have a strong presence up there in 2020 and it’s something they talk about. He thinks the first one might be Toronto, but he’s a fan of the Pacific Northwest.
Cody says he’s most proud of people in AEW not taking victory laps and they always look to next week. He cites the passionate environment and says he has no regrets about AEW. He generally doesn’t have any, but he’s happy with things so far.
