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Cody Rhodes did an interview with ESPN to talk about All Elite Wrestling. Some highlights:
Will AEW be recruiting experienced wrestlers or up-and-comers or amateur or a mix: "Probably a mix. My favorite word here is fresh. I want fresh. People who haven't ever been seen. One thing that has surprised me about independent pro wrestling is the amount of quality men and women on the scene. The stars are just waiting to be under the big lights. Obviously there is a great deal of veterans, but I don't want to make the mistake of putting that talent on the forefront versus featuring up-and-coming wrestlers. Fresh is everything and nothing is better than when you have a balance. You add to that one of the greatest wrestlers of all time in Chris Jericho, who continues to reinvent himself -- he's wrestling's David Bowie -- you put him in the same ring with somebody who's fresh and hasn't been seen, it just ups that individual's profile. It's what we call in the business "the rub." That's how I really want to balance it out. I don't want to lean towards one side. You've seen in wrestling, the worst thing you can do is abuse and overuse your legends. You have got to keep it amongst your core contract young and fresh guys."
Specific job responsibilities as an Executive VP: "I am the executive vice president of talent, live events and creative. And that is the job I share with Matt and Nick. It's basically an extension of All In. I don't want to hang out in the past, but it is what we did for All In. It's recruiting talent, it's licensing talent, it's coordinating everything from stage design to scaling the MGM Grand Garden, which is what I was doing on my phone right before we started speaking. This is my dream job. I am doing it all currently. Recruiting talent, talking to talent, making deals, underwriting the contracts -- everything that is under the purview of that job and more because we are a startup."
How his approach to creative will be similar or different to Dusty: "My dad 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."
How many revenue streams they are looking to develop: "Unfortunately due to the legality in all of this, I can't speak on the potentiality of a television deal, but I can say we've got Tony and the world that Tony comes from with his business acumen and providing consistent content and what that means for a consumer. I can also speak to the fact that Dana Massie, who is going to be heading up the merchandising arm of All Elite Wrestling, is a frigging genius. She is responsible for Killing The Business [The Young Bucks' merchandising empire]. She is the secret weapon behind that and pretty much, without being dramatic, has changed the independent wrestling scene and I think she knows it. We're looking at all different avenues but we also have a less-is-more approach. We want to match sizzle with substance, so right now we only have Double Or Nothing happening at the MGM Garden Arena on May 25 and in the following months we are going to have the Jacksonville show, with gate money going towards the victims and families and people affected by the recent shootings in Jacksonville at the Madden tournament. That was something Tony felt strongly about."
You can read the complete interview at this link.
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