AEW Superstar Cody Rhodes was recently interviewed by FITE on Focus, as he discussed the success of AEW Dark shows before live tapings and more.
Rhodes said,
“We have to provide layers of content and Tony has provided layers of content, you just named all the shows and that’s how you do it. Dark for example, right now, Dark is the most fun thing on the planet. The Universal Studios [Sound Stage] that we’re filming at… If you’ve not been to a Dark taping, I really encourage you to go to one. Not only do you get to see two sessions, sometimes you only see one but you meet a lot of people, I went out and made my rounds, I’m pretty sure that I met every single fan in the place and I’m going to continue to do that if I’m wrestling or if I’m not, just because it’s this really, cool, unique studio show. You see a lot of the up-and-coming talent and they’re not hindered by the larger booking of big-time Dynamite, the hour-long length of Rampage, or the loaded aspect of a pay-per-view. They’re really able to kind of grow on this kind of preserve and learn and figure stuff out because there is an audience, a particularly hardcore audience. Some of the most fun I’ve had in wrestling was this most recent Dark session and I just sit there in the chair and pretend to do stuff. I’m just having a good time. I get to see Tony, Tony loves wrestling, if you ever get the chance to just sit by him and watch wrestling, you can learn a lot by just watching him watch it. But yeah, Dark’s amazing, it gives some of the up-and-coming talent a chance to fly. Elevation’s amazing in the sense that it’s in front of our bigger crowds but they’re under some of the stress and duress of a live TV situation because it’s that hour-plus, right before we go on the air for Dynamite and that develops a whole different set of skills for a wrestler that they need. I’m sure you’ve seen from covering the sport, not everyone’s cut out for big-time TV wrestling. Some of our favorites, [they] can’t fathom the time, the red light and commercial breaks, all this crazy stuff that makes being a TV wrestler a special trait. That’s why you sometimes see the same wrestlers dominating [on TV], because they’re able to do it. But, I like the variety of content that we offer because I think it’s best for our roster.“
