Cody Says Ex-WWE Talent Is 5% of AEW Roster: ‘You’ve Gotta Be Able to Cut It’

– During his appearance on the Jim Ross Report, Cody discussed hiring on WWE alumni and how much of the AEW roster will be from that pool. Cody said that he’s more interested in finding what he calls ‘Tier 1’ talent, meaning new up-and-coming wrestlers, though he’s certainly open to taking on former WWE stars.

“I’ve honestly kind of jokingly said it’s currently about 5%, and I’m talking Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, Cody Rhodes,” he said. “A few others, maybe. It’s not the same; having that equity with WWE is wonderful. But like we were talking, you’ve gotta be able to cut it and meet the standards that people have for their actual bell-to-bell contests. That number might increase, there being this opportunity that exists for the boys and girls to make more money here or there, wherever, and for the boys and girls to have options. So that number may increase. Like you said, if they can play, they’re gonna play.”

He continued, “But right now, the recruitment was more about — I use the term ‘Tier 1,’ and I expect everyone to know what I’m talking about. But really, it was more about freshmen if that makes any snse. I wanna build a new class of guys. I’ve been there before when I felt like, ‘Nobody’s got my back, nobody’s my ally.’ And I don’t wanna get into sour grapes over it, but that’s one of the things I look forward to most once we really get into the schedule, is the fact that these new fresh faces — take Darby Allin for example, who we just announced. I don’t want them to feel like they were set up and that was it. I want them to feel like they were set up to win, to succeed, and then they went out there and hit it out of the park. WWE at the moment, I’d say 5% of the current makeup, and that may increase but right now it’s a lot of faces you’ve never seen and a lot of faces you’ll be surprised when you do see.”

If using the above quote, please credit the Jim Ross Report Podcast with an h/t to 411mania.com.