All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Brandi Rhodes was recently interviewed by Entrepreneur.com to talk about several professional wrestling topics.
Here are the highlights:
The rollout of AEW Heels happening not long after wrestling’s #SpeakingOut movement:
That was purely coincidental. This is something we had talked about and were trying to figure out what it would look like, especially in this period, for quite some time. The #SpeakingOut movement happened and continues to happen, and that’s something I definitely look at as a separate thing, even though one of the greatest things about Heels is that it’s very topical. Whatever is going on in the world or that people want to discuss is something we’re open to doing.
Presenting an initiative idea to upper management:
Sometimes it’s trial-and-error. The number-one thing with something like this is being able to understand. And sometimes when we pitch things, we think because we understand it, everbody else is going to fully understand the scope of it. And sometimes we’re just not clear with our expectations. So I outlined everything I wanted to talk about with [Heels], and I asked for some time with Tony. We talked about it for 30 minutes on our own before presenting it to anyone else, and I think he was able to get a full grasp on it right away.
Confidence in finding a void to fill with initiatives like Heels:
Having been in the industry for so long, I’ve seen a lot of voids. And I’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of voids being a person of color, being a woman. So you recognize those hardships and have to stay grounded in them, because there aren’t that many of us in positions like mine. It’s a delicate balance, because you don’t want to be the person who’s always harping about issues that can be seen as personal to you. But at the same time, you do feel like you represent people like you. It’s something I pick my battles with, but it’s not an actual battle half the time. It’s just, when is this appropriate and how do we most effectively do this?
When to publicly take a position on an issue:
One thing that’s always important is don’t feel like you always have to respond to something or publicly say something. Sometimes you’re more effective donating or doing something that’s able to help the cause more than just saying something. It’s become so commonplace to say something, but that doesn’t guarantee there’s any feeling behind it, that it wasn’t written for you. People have come to rely too much on social media as an action, when really it’s just words. I’m also more of a quiet-action person. If I choose to donate something, I usually do it anonymously. I’m not going to immediately align myself with someone because of something they said on social media.
Also Read: Brandi Rhodes Comments On The Future AEW Heels Events, & More
