Cody Rhodes Says AEW Has Adapted the Best to the Empty Arena Format

AEW superstar Cody Rhodes was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio to talk all things pro wrestling. Highlights from his interview are below.

How he thinks AEW is the best wrestling product during this empty arena era:

Oh yeah, wholeheartedly. You know, during this period of time, where a lot of the content is prerecorded or taped – a good chunk of it – I’m still seeing it multiple times. One of the best things is when you go to see the screeners or you look at items in post-production if it can bring a smile to your face – an organic real smile, or, I’m sure you’ve seen this Bully in catering since this is where it always happens – that thing where wrestlers watch their matches, and you see them start moving around, and you watch their face going through the motions – it always brings a smile. The content is king right now, especially with the Coronavirus and the quarantine, [our] content is king. I think our content is the best.

Chris Jericho being so good on commentary:

I actually said this to Tony and Chris, I think a lot of people are going to miss the duo. A lot of things have come up by necessity. Like the movie “The Replacements,” there’s been a replacement story with the limited roster that we had as we were filming during the quarantine. One of the silver linings – and there’s been a lot of them – is the duo. I think people are going to miss the commentary team of Jericho and Schiavone. To see Tony Schiavone grow into this role even further, a role he didn’t have to grow into is really amazing. He’s been an MVP during this time period. But, I’m excited to get Jim [Ross], Excalibur and Taz back in the fold, and get the full team together.

Taz being very knowledgeable about wrestler’s move-sets:

Taz, you know, was somebody that when everything went down, he was looking for things to do. He was not looking for a vacation or a shelter in place. He’s constantly moving. He beta tested these. Obviously, the sports-based presentation is still a huge part of professional wrestling. Even if we offer a buffet of different types of presentations, that piece of it where a man is trying to beat another man, or a woman is trying to beat another woman, that piece is incredibly significant. That is what Taz did on himself. He beta tested it. I loved it, I know Tony Khan loved it, and I know that the guys and the girls when they see their piece of business being talked about, that’s a rub in itself, you get a rub from a legend like Taz. You also get a deep guy, you’re analyzing something and this is very unique. Pro wrestling is unique enough in its representation in actual wrestling, but nothings more shilly to me than chain wrestling or really bad pretend style wrestling. Taz is one of those guys that doesn’t pretend. He knows the sports mindset and it’s a valuable thing that he brought to the table during this time, and technique by technique, Taz is going to stay.”