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What's the story?
In an interview with Variety, Cody Rhodes spoke on the newly announced partnership with TNT and also took a very clear shot at WWE by clearing stating what he thinks of the product.
In case you didn't know...
Earlier today, WarnerMedia officially announced their partnership with AEW. AEW will be broadcasting a weekly TV show sometime in the fall. They will be streaming all their content on the Warner-owned B/R (Bleacher Report) as well as be available for PPV. The press release also stated the following.
All Elite Wrestling is a talent-forward, fan-first league whose inclusive approach to creating high-quality athletic wrestling competitions is already making waves with fans and attracting top-tier wrestlers," said Michael Quigley, executive VP commercial operations, content strategy and monetization at TBS and TNT.
It's going to be interesting once AEW TV actually begins.
The heart of the matter
As reported by Fightful, Cody Rhodes was provided more insight as to what to expect from AEW in an interview with Variety.
For many years throughout my youth and plenty of other fans’ youths, pro wrestling has been essentially just one company and that’s not really the case. I want to be the sports-centric alternative in the pro wrestling world and I think we’re on a good path to get there
As many wrestling fans, Cody Rhodes worked for WWE for several years. But his unhappiness working there and took a massive shot at WWE.
[As] much as I say it was a wonderful job, it wasn’t wrestling. That’s something I’ve learned a lot about, the grittiness and the sports-centric element of the industry that doesn’t exist really anywhere else currently. We have the opportunity to seize that.
What's next?
Cody Rhodes doesn't mince words discussing his time with WWE. Some WWE fans may take exception with that quote as WWE has perhaps the best roster it's had in years. But at the same time, the ratings tell a very different story. Once AEW TV premieres, we'll have a clear idea of how things move ahead.
