AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes sat down with KC Joyner of ESPN to discuss All Elite Wrestling and the future of the business. In the interview, he would open up about the company’s creative process for the future, revenue streaming, and the likelihood of having a union to help with pay and insurance for wrestlers.
Here are some highlights from the interview below, which could be read at this link:
Cody on learning the creative approach from his father:
“My dad [Dusty Rhodes] was executive producer at WCW and was the booker for Jim Crockett Promotions. I learned so much from being his son. I’ll be honest — I don’t like when other people say it, but I can say it — I learned from the things he did right and I also learned from the things he did wrong, because he had to live with them for a good portion of his career. A lot of it is on the board criticism, but I’ve seen that and I feel like I know what to stay away from and know which direction to go.
One thing we are trying to do here is let guys go out there and play their music like they are going to play it. If I invest in a talent like, let’s say MJF [Maxwell Jacob Friedman] for example, it’s not my job to micromanage you. My job is to put a spotlight on you. I’ve seen your set of skills. We looked into you. We recruited you. I’m just using him as an example. Somebody like that, if you are paying them to be on your show, let them go out there and play their own song. Don’t give them a new lyric sheet. Don’t give them a new instrument. And that’s the type of wrestling I grew up on.
If we look at the heyday of WWF in the late ’80s and the type of wrestling that I love dearly, those were grown men who knew what the direction was, they got a finish, they got a time, and they went out there and delivered what they delivered. It wasn’t something that was micromanaged. Maybe slightly consulted or massaged, but they were the stars, so why micromanage them? We will not be micromanaging anybody.”
On Rhodes’ thoughts on unionizing to meet the needs of the company’s wrestlers:
“We want to make this a better world for wrestling fans by making it a better world for wrestlers. So the first step you have is you up that price point and you take care of your wrestlers more. The more that happens, we can continue to go.
A union in pro wrestling — and that’s this thing that people say all of the time, and they don’t realize it — a union in pro wrestling would put pro wrestling out of business. But, with that said, we should be actively working towards some sort of body, and this is outside of what I’m talking about with AEW and as me in the executive role, but we should actively be working to have the happiest talent you can possibly have. Whether that starts as a talent feedback system, or a players’ league, or some sort of body where there’s a complete, transparent communication between those in the office and those in the locker room.
That’s massively important, especially when you are traveling the world. I think taking those steps, even if they are baby steps, is great.”
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