Cody Thinks Wrestling Live Event System Is ‘Antiquated’

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Cody spoke about the current live event system of professional wrestling, which the AEW executive says is ‘antiquated.’ Here are highlights:

On being a wrestler and an executive: “I think it’s just a matter of time management. And you really have to split yourself in that positive way where you know when you’re getting ready for your own segment, and you know when you’re getting ready for your own piece of the narrative in a two-hour show, and then you have to know when you’re touring around a third-party group, or talking to a younger talent about a pre-tape and who’s going to shoot it, or reviewing somebody’s work – you just have to know when to turn on the performer. And when you turn on the performer, that’s really fun because you can let all that stuff go for just a few minutes, and kind of be a shark out in the ocean again. Get your blood pumping about going out there and wrestling in front of thousands of people.”

On doing only one show a week: “One of the benefits of working for All Elite Wrestling – if you’re a competitor – you’re really only working one day a week. The really die-hard, committed, kind of golden circle of our company is always working, and that includes wrestlers – not just management. Their minds always going. But it’s new to wrestling that Tony’s offered this schedule. Some people are free to do independent [shows] on the weekends where they can keep getting their reps in. Some other people don’t need the reps – like my brother [Dustin Rhodes, formerly known as Goldust in WWE], he’s had 20 years of reps. He’s TV-ready always, as kind of proven by this last week in there with The Young Bucks and Santana and Ortiz. I think it’s the way it should be.

I think the model of the live-event system, and I’m not trying to knock anybody, is antiquated. The last few years [I was] with WWE, those houses for live events and not TVs were pretty – they were good, they were a couple thousand – but they weren’t the same as the big TV spectacle. It just seems like you’re putting less of an emphasis on your show when you spread yourself out like that. So, I think everything is about Dynamite. To follow AEW, you’ve got to watch Dynamite. Dynamite’s our only show. Four pay-per-views a year. And everything that exists outside of that is shoulder content, it’s stuff you can watch if you want to. And if not, tune into Dynamite and be caught right up.”

On removing himself from the AEW World title picture: “It was solely my decision. Tony was not a fan of it, but he understood why I wanted to do it. And I heard both sides of the argument. Right now, I’m in a spot with the fans that I’ve never been in before. I’ve never gotten reactions like this. I’ve never been as good as I am in the ring right now. You know, men’s wrestler prime is 35 [years old], that’s what everyone always says. I’m 34. So, I think I’m almost there. … But also, I don’t want to face any of the criticisms or any of the asterisks that my dad [Dusty Rhodes] faced because they weren’t fair to his legacy.

When he was with [Jim Crockett Promotions], people talk about all that, he made everybody at Crockett rich. Him and Ric Flair were the top stars. When you’re the top stars, they’re what the people wanted to see. But they all received that criticism later on, the political aspect of it. I figured I would just take a different path. It’s not going to stop me from wrestling. It’s not going to stop me from even main-eventing if the match calls for it. But the title doesn’t belong to me. And unless the fans really wanted me to be champion, to wouldn’t belong to me. So right now, I’m happy with that decision.”