Dustin Rhodes Says AEW Is In A Growing Stage, Preaches Patience From Fans

Dustin Rhodes became All Elite in April 2019, just three months after AEW was born. The three-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, who began his in-ring career in 1988, has seen all the highs and lows the promotion has experienced in its short history. Rhodes recently provided his insight into AEW's current position.

"I love AEW," Rhodes said on the "Sports Guys Talking Wrestling" podcast. "I love Tony [Khan], and he treats me like gold there, and it's very appreciative. We have a good group of kids there, younger and some older. We're coming together. We're trying these new things. We're trying to present a television show nationally each week and doing better and better and better ... Listen, AEW is in a growing stage. This is our fourth year. It takes a while sometimes to get to the level that you want to get."

When Rhodes first joined the company, he was placed in an emotionally-charged feud with his brother Cody Rhodes, which resulted in the siblings colliding at AEW's inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Nowadays, the 53-year-old performs sporadically and has recently been teaming up with Keith Lee. Rhodes feels AEW is doing a great job at the moment but called for fans to be patient. 

"Tony's doing a fantastic job at booking these matches and these storylines and watching them unfold," Rhodes said. "But, you know, our audience, sometimes, they just want it now, right? And storylines sometimes they take time to develop. Sometimes the fans they forget, right? ... I like slow, long storyline builds. And at the end of that thing, you've got to knock it out of the park."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Sports Guys Talking Wrestling" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.