On Collider Live, Cody and Brandi Rhodes spoke about the upcoming debut and were more than happy to answer all questions. Everything from NXT, CM Punk, and the XFL were addressed. Their answers were quite revealing.

During the conversations between Cody, Brandi Rhodes, and the rest of the Collider crew, several interesting things popped up that weren’t previously known to the greater wrestling community. Here are 5 backstage secrets Cody Rhodes revealed about AEW on Collider Live.

#5 Shawn Spears’ chair shot led to a ban

As many wrestling fans may remember, Shawn Spears began his feud with Cody Rhodes when he hit him with a devastating chair shot at AEW Fyter Fest. As witnessed by those in attendance, as well as the viewers at home, Cody Rhodes dropped to the mat and bled out all over the canvas. This was an unprotected chair shot to the head and it was quite obvious that no blood was meant to be spilled.

Cody Rhodes spoke on this incident in detail during his interview.

Cody Rhodes said that he wanted to take chair shots back for wrestling, but it didn’t work out as he had hoped. He also said that it was most likely the last head shot in AEW. This was a wise decision, as chair shots are simply too dangerous.

#4 Tony Khan’s management style gave Cody Rhodes the confidence to start AEW

During the interview, Cody Rhodes revealed that there was skepticism about even talking to Tony Khan. Cody believed that growing up in the wrestling business gave him a sense of caution before he would even commit to taking on such an endeavor. According to Cody, his father Dusty Rhodes tried to start his own promotion and as a result, found himself 2-3 million dollars in debt.

It was actually Matt Jackson, who took Tony Khan’s call, and felt that they could do it. Cody Rhodes spoke further on what made Tony Khan different from others who wanted to start their own wrestling promotion.

He said,

Cody Rhodes also said that if he and the rest of the Golden Elite stuck together, they could keep each other (them and Tony) honest and responsible.

You watch the exchange at 2:00 in the video below

These comments speak volumes about the confidence Cody Rhodes has in Tony Khan and that he has the added advantage of his friends being involved in the promotion. It will be interesting to see how things pan out, but win or lose, the group is in it together.

#3 AEW didn’t know Nyla Rose was transgender when they signed her

During the interview, the subject moved to the hiring of Nyla Rose. Some in the wrestling community were inferring that Nyla Rose was signed because of her gender and not for her wrestling ability. The Collider crew asked Cody and Brandi Rhodes as to how they came to sign her.

Brandi Rhodes shed light on the matter,

She went on further to say that she found out about Rose through the internet and that she began receiving “Thank You” tweets from the LGBTQ community. While Brandi was overjoyed, she said that Nyla Rose was hired because she’s a fantastic competitor.

Cody Rhodes also commented and said, “There was no attempt to check a box.” What that means is that AEW was not pandering to any specific community, but rather picking the wrestler based on ability alone. With these revealed details about the Nyla Rose signing, it’s quite clear that AEW believes in what the wrestler can bring to the table, rather than socio-political optics.

#2 Bret Hart appeared in AEW because of a simple phone call

The interview on Collider Live turned to how AEW was able to get Awesome Kong and Bret Hart to appear at Double or Nothing. In Awesome Kong’s situation, it was simply due to an existing relationship between she and Brandi Rhodes.

Awesome Kong had helped train Brandi Rhodes at FCW. The initial plan was for Brandi to be her manager in WWE, but things never came to fruition. Brandi Rhodes simply reached out to her and she said yes.

Cody Rhodes spoke about how he was able to get Bret Hart to present the AEW championship at Double or Nothing and said,

Rhodes continued,

Cody Rhodes does hint that Bret Hart could appear in the future. Considering the company has used wrestling legends very well so far in AEW, it’ll be interesting how they move forward.

#1 There will be no fake general managers or commissioners in AEW

For most wrestling shows on TV, there was always an on-screen authority figure. WWE used to do this with presidents and commissioners, as did WCW. This eventually morphed into the evil-owner routine with Vince McMahon and Erci Bischoff for WWE and WCW respectively. It is still being utilized today in WWE. Cody Rhodes said that won’t happen in AEW.

When discussing the idea of having the titles matter and having the ranking system, Cody Rhodes spoke on the big fight feel aspect of AEW’s presentation.

You can watch the comments at 6:31 in the video below

AEW wants to make professional wrestling look and feel as real as possible. It makes sense in the long run and may help establish AEW as a force to be reckoned with heading forward.

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