During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, AEW EVP Cody Rhodes commented on his reaction to AEW Dynamite being moved to TBS next year, the TNT supercards being similar to Clash of the Champions, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On his reaction to AEW moving to TBS in 2022: “Tony [Khan] was able to facilitate the best possible deal for All Elite Wrestling, and that means more money for the content, and then more importantly, the term that Brett [Weitz] at WarnerMedia used is the best term, it truly is an expansion. We’re just expanding our brand on to TBS, that being Rampage, coming over to TBS, Dynamite itself, four specials, a la Clash of the Champions, our Saturday Night’s Main Event. Those were kind of comparable. Having those on TNT, we’re really all over, and just watching the upfronts for WarnerMedia to see our penetration and presentation, made me really proud that we’ve been such a nice success story.
“So for me, I was excited. I’m always kind of the eternal … I’m very reserved in what I think, and so we put it out there on the medium, but it would be remiss if I didn’t think of the fact that TBS has been a part of my life since I was a little kid. Tony Schiavone texted me that morning, and of course he said, “We’re going back to the mothership.” And the mothership is what my father used to call TBS, for good reason, because they took that first chance on WCW and Jim Crockett Promotions. And now they’ll have all of the wrestling and some familiar names, and a very unique bell-to-bell product. So I’m ecstatic. Plus I’m a psycho American Dad fan. Just to share the space with them and perhaps to do a little cross-promotion would be a really fun thing to do.”
On the TNT supercards being similar to Clash of the Champions: “Yeah, that’s a really good way [to look at it]. I mean, in wrestling, you take these things and they become these old comparables, and you use them as examples. But with All Elite Wrestling, it’s been really hard, because everything we do is perhaps rooted in a piece of history, but then it’s a spin, and then it becomes its entirely own thing, has its own identity. But yeah, I would definitely look at Clash of the Champions as something. And then Saturday Night’s Main Event as well, as what these are. They’d be super events, type events where the titles are on the line, where big stories converge. But that being said, we don’t save anything. That old kind of passe, “Oh, save it for the pay-per-view.” Well, we only do four pay-per-views a year, and what people are watching and our biggest audience is on TNT and it will become TBS. It’s very hard to think of stuff to save, but we have such a roster. There’s so many matches that haven’t been touched on. Those four specials will be very special indeed, in-house and arena, and on TNT. I think it’ll be a whole new ball game for wrestling fans.”
On Rampage potentially helping with the pacing of Dynamite: “The format for Dynamite is always fun to look at, unique, and the challenge of every week covering so many stories, determining the most important stories, appeasing the stories that do well with the audience itself, because we’re a data company at heart. Chris Harrington and Tony Khan are looking at what moves the needle, and that’s what’s going to be out there, and that’s what’s going to be prioritized. I think having Rampage will help considerably. That way we can share the wealth. However, Dynamite’s a very hard show to get on. The best wrestlers in the world are on Dynamite. We have a very full locker room, and on the way to the ring, you walk by a lot of people who are on the bench that week. I think you’ll see a lot of that bench get unloaded for Rampage, and that’s very, very exciting. And the two shows will have their own identities surrounding the AEW championships that kind of tether us all together. But other than the logo for Rampage, the details are all still forthcoming, other than I think it will be really great for our locker room.”
