Why Wins/Losses Will Matter In AEW - Ranking Leagues Planned?

AEW EVP on Rankings, WWE, WCW, Chris Jericho and more...

AEW Cody
All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has suggested that win/loss rankings may be used as part of AEW's booking philosophy as just one of the way's the group will attempt to distinguish themselves from WWE's current output.

Speaking to SEScoops.com, he said, "This is preliminary, but I can tell you that we have talked about rankings and we have talked about records. As a kid, we probably all read Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the different mags where they’d have the rankings. Everything we’d like to do is an effort to engage the audience. Not in a way that insults their intelligence. It is something that’s been discussed. I can’t confirm that we’ll do records, or we’ll do an analytical take on it, but I’ve seen some mock ups for some pretty cool stuff."

In a detailed discussion on the planning and execution of All Elite, he commented on what he felt separated WWE's brand of Sports Entertainment from the type he'd like to produce..."When I say sports entertainment, I have a love for the side of the business that skews more towards sports. You find that a lot in New Japan Pro Wrestling, you find that a lot in early 90’s WCW that I am always notoriously raving about, I find it a lot in my father’s product, the same with Bill Watts – it’s more of the sports side of it. Pro wrestling is absolutely sports entertainment but it’s also pro wrestling. I think that’s the direction that we’d like to lean.”

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Cody, All Elite Wrestling
AEW

Speaking on the company's (current) biggest star Chris Jericho, and how to apply his aura to a realistic product. He said, "If you really think about it, somebody like Chris Jericho who just signed with All Elite Wrestling, that’s a really cool record to take a look at. Analytically, it’s a really unique outlook on his career, it’s incredibly impressive. New Japan does it in their own unique way, with Tag League and with G1 and you notice the fans get really into that. They want something they can sink their teeth into. I can’t confirm but we’re definitely looking at records and standings, it’s a very strong possibility."

“Wrestling to me is very real. There is a side of this world that is artificial that we’re all well aware of that. But it’s a much fairer business (it can be) than people realize. And when I say that, the people that the crowd likes the most. Those are the people that you should invest in. You should never sleep on a moment, you’ve seen it before, a moment that the crowd gets behind somebody. That’s a thing to take note of.”

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett