Cody Addresses Report That Tony Khan Will Be The Head Of Creative For AEW
The official launch of All Elite Wrestling came last week but the headlines regarding the fledgling promotion have continued to roll in since then. One of those headlines came when EVP Cody Rhodes said that the company is not hiring writers and that they are keeping things "in-house for now."
Many took that as meaning that president Tony Khan would be in charge of creative despite not having a wrestling background. That was the thought that Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter had and Cody responded to that notion during an interview with sescoops.com in which he clarified that he and The Young Bucks are the "brain trust" of the wrestling product.
"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," said Cody. "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."
WON also reported that Khan would be in the Vince McMahon role of "head of creative" and that Cody would lead the men's singles division. Brandi Rhodes would then lead the women's division and The Bucks would be in charge of the tag team decision. That doesn't appear to be the exact hierarchy that AEW will have, but Cody admits he's cognizant of the pitfalls of being your own booker thanks to his dad.
"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," stated Cody. "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."
Dusty Rhodes was the head booker for Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA during the mid-to-late 1980s, and he was often criticized for inserting himself a little too often into storylines. Cody has learned from his father and reiterates that the fans will dictate the wrestlers and storylines that they see in AEW.
"You can't please everybody in this industry and that's the quickest route to failure," said Cody. "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."