Brandi Rhodes Says She and Tony Khan Want a Women’s Tag Division in AEW

Speaking to reporters at the New York Comic-Con (via Newsweek), AEW executive Brandi Rhodes discussed the AEW women’s division and Riho becoming the first AEW women’s champion. Also, she was asked about AEW forming a women’s tag team division. Below are some highlights.

Brandi Rhodes on not wanting to rush a women’s tag division: “You never want to rush into things because you put unnecessary pressure on competitors that don’t need to be there. Each championship is unfolding as we go. Pretty confident that [AEW President] Tony Khan is on record saying he would want a women’s tag division. I want a women’s tag division.”

Brandi Rhodes on Riho winning the inaugural title match: “It was the unlikely candidate that won, so that’s very intriguing. [Nyla Rose] is obviously very angry. And there are all these hungry women chomping at the bit for a chance to win a championship. It’s going to play out very nicely.”

Brandi Rhodes on Riho winning the title: “It was inspirational to see. It also gives me so much hope…. People will continue to be hooked because it was hard not to be connected to something on that show.”

Rhodes on how she wanted Riho to win the match by the end of it: “It’s a huge challenge for someone like Riho, who just came over to the United States and doesn’t speak English. Translation will come mostly from Michael Nakazawa, but Riho is an incredible competitor, and you can get her story without her talking. I loved what I saw from her the other night. I felt the wave of emotion, her fight. I wanted her to win by the end.”

Her thoughts on Riho: “I can identify with Riho because I was the talent that didn’t speak the language in Japan. I’m very excited for the fans to kind of build a relationship with her because it’s going to take work from both sides to understand one another. It’s an exciting thing to build a relationship with a talent that’s outside of your comfort zone.”