Cody Rhodes Talks Diversity Of AEW Roster, Treating Everyone As Wrestlers And Not A PR Element
On Saturday night following AEW's Double or Nothing, AEW Executive Vice President and wrestler Cody spoke to Busted Open host Mark Henry about the use of symbolism and diversity in AEW.
In the clip above, Henry asked Cody about the symbolism used throughout the inaugural Pay Per View during the post-Double or Nothing media scrum.
"I think it was important that we provided a variety," Cody stated. "Eric Bischoff, that was something big and it stuck, the buffet. It's got to be a wrestling buffet. That tag team match has to be tag team wrestling at its finest. Kenny and Chris has to be bell to bell. All that at its finest. I like to lean in to the emotional character side of this. That's probably my wheelhouse.
"I wanted all the symbolism. I think it was done right, I think I know it was done right because the people were so receptive to it. That's the just best feeling in the world. Now, had they booed it out of the building, we could have worked with that too. But they were receptive to it. I like the symbolism. I'll stick with the symbolism. I think you're gonna see a lot of great things out of everybody on this roster. There's a lot of people. Particularly the four EVP's, there's a lot of pressure. How will they handle this role?"
Henry questioned Cody about the decision to diversify AEW, which prompted Cody to recollect advice from his wife Brandi Rhodes.
"I'm in an interracial marriage and I've learned a lot that I would have never known," Cody admitted. "At one time, I told Brandi, 'I don't see color' and she said, 'Then you don't see my experience.' I thought, 'You're right, I can't just say that.' You need to be able to see the experience or at least just understand it.
"The old territory system of just one. That's out. The best wrestlers are gonna field the game and that's a very diverse profile. I'm really proud it. We're gonna promote them as wrestlers. We're not gonna make it a PR element for us. And I'm really proud of that because it's about the wrestling."
You can check out Cody's full comments in the video below.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wrestling Inc.
.@CodyRhodes talks to @TheMarkHenry during the post-#AEWDON media scrum about the symbolism used during the show and AEW actively recruiting a more diverse roster.@WIncRebel @AEWrestling pic.twitter.com/bWuUTImneC
? WrestlingINC.com (@WrestlingInc) May 26, 2019