Earlier this week, we spoke with Cody Rhodes, Executive Vice President of All Elite Wrestling. Among the topics discussed, we wanted to know if Cody believes there are any conflicts regarding he, the Young Bucks and wife Brandi ‘booking themselves’ in AEW.
In the January 14th, 2019 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was stated that AEW President Tony Khan will serve in the “Vince McMahon role” as head of creative, with Cody focusing on the men’s singles division, the Young Bucks in charge of tag teams and Brandi handling the women.
We asked Cody if that report was accurate and if so, are there any conflicts (whether legitimate or perceived) regarding the AEW executives booking their own wins and losses and determining how they are portrayed on screen.
Cody first addressed the Observer report and appears to dispute that Tony Khan will be head of creative. Cody clarifies that Tony is handling the booking side of things and the “brain trust” of the AEW product is he, Matt and Nick Jackson.
“Oh, for sure there’s the potential for conflict and there’s the potential to do it wrong. I think Dave’s report, and he’s got his information pretty well, Dave’s report is a little skewed, the brain-trust here is still me, Matt and Nick. Tony is teaching us – that guy teaches me something every day about the business end of things. In terms of the booking, and that’s a very fair question, I jokingly keep saying, ‘Well, I’m going to book myself as the champion.’ I think everyone will be very pleased.”
Interestingly, Cody acknowledges there may be some ‘hiccups’ involved in avoiding his own self-interest when booking AEW.
Again, I learn from the same success and the same mistakes that my dad made when he was booking and Executive Producing Jim Crocket Promotions. I mean that whole heartedly. I’m telling you, I think people will be surprised about the presentation we put on. This isn’t a vanity promotion by any means. I know there’s going to be some pitfalls and moments and hiccups with that.”
He continued, “I want to make sure we don’t lean into the criticism. There’s plenty of folks saying, ‘They’re the bookers for this? This is going to be a vanity promotion.’ I don’t lean into the criticism at all. I want to lean into the positivity. The people you saw at All In. The people you saw at the rally. The people who just want an alternative wrestling promotion who are supporting us.”
Cody added that you can’t please everybody in wrestling and trying to do so is the quickest route to failure. He’s looking to please the fans who are getting in on AEW on the ground level. He vowed to be mindful of this potential conflict.
You can’t please everybody in this industry and that’s the quickest route to failure. I want to please those who are on the ground floor with us and the people who are telling their friends and the old school word-of-mouth that is this wrestling industry. We will be mindful of it, but the best wrestlers in general are the ones you’re going to see on top.”
For more on All Elite Wrestling, visit our AEW News page.
