As the news of All Elite Wrestling’s television deal with TNT broke on Wednesday morning, Variety released a story featuring a new interview with Cody Rhodes, who doubles as an AEW wrestler and one of the companies executive vice presidents. During the interview Rhodes reflected on his time in WWE and discussed what AEW will bring to the table that makes it a legitimate alternative to the top wrestling promotion in the world.
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[As] much as I say [WWE] was a wonderful job, it wasn’t wrestling,” Rhodes said. “That’s something I’ve learned a lot about, the grittiness and the sports-centric element of the industry that doesn’t exist really anywhere else currently. We have the opportunity to seize that.”
Rhodes worked with the WWE from 2006-16 and spent numerous years in the midcard before requesting his release. Over the next three years he thrived as an independent wrestler, winning championships in both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling while joining forces with the popular faction Bullet Club. He and The Young Bucks hosted their self-promoted first event, All In, back in September 2018 and became the first non-WWE show to sell more than 10,000 tickets since WCW folded.
“The term people are using is ‘alternative,’” Rhodes said. “For many years throughout my youth and plenty of other fans’ youths, pro wrestling has been essentially just one company and that’s not really the case. I want to be the sports-centric alternative in the pro wrestling world and I think we’re on a good path to get there.”
AEW’s first event, Double or Nothing, will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event, which sold out in just four minutes, will air live on pay-per-view and on the B/R Live streaming service. Top matches for the show include Rhodes versus his half-brother Dustin Rhodes, Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho, “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Pac and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros.
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