By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The following items are from the “An Evening with Cody and The Bucks” event that was held at Starrcast II in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday.
-Cody said his old boss [Vince McMahon] was very domineering whereas Tony Khan is more of a collaborator. “The guy is the real deal,” Cody said. Cody added that he understands that you need a corporate element, but it frustrated him that executives or musical guests were flying in first class while the wrestlers were in the back. It also frustrated him when WWE executive George Barrios walked around acting like he drew the house at events he attended. “The wrestling and the wrestlers have to take the business back,” he said.
-Cody said Double Or Nothing was supposed to be at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and they had to switch venues. Nick said they spoke about the LA Forum, and Matt added that they also spoke about running the event Madison Square Garden. “But you know there’s still time to do all those shows, right?” Nick said.
-Marvez said there were eight different drafts of the television deal that went back and forth between the lawyers. He said there was a realistic chance at one point that they would have moved forward without a television deal if it wasn’t the right deal.
-Cody boasted about the AEW television deal with ITV in the UK. “WWE’s TV deal in the United Kingdom sucks compared to ours and we haven’t even had a single show,” Cody said. He said the deal was due to the ferocity of Tony Khan.
-Cody praised Kylie Rae and took a jab at Bayley in the process. He said they sent a camera crew to Chicago for the Road To Double Or Nothing video series. “What a ball of emotion,” Cody said. “That’s what we wanted, someone passionate and she’s not Wacky Inflatable Tubemen pretending to be nice.”
-Cody said he may have booked 22 people for the 21-man Casino Battle Royale that will be held on Double Or Nothing pre-show.
-Double Or Nothing will be an annual event for AEW.
-Former Ring of Honor referee Paul Turner is the head referee for AEW.
-Nick Jackson said they will limit the number of titles in AEW and he wants every title to be capable of main eventing the show. Nick received a pop when he said they won’t have a 24/7 Championship. Cody said he felt bad for Mick Foley and mocked the title belt. “Our titles are going to look good,” Nick said.
-Matt Jackson said the AEW television series will tour around the world rather than be held in one location.
-When asked if the partnership with AAA will hurt potential dealings with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Cody said he would hope that wouldn’t be the case. Nick said they had meetings with Ring of Honor and NJPW right before they announced the formation of the company. He said they are open to working with everyone.
-The trio were asked if CM Punk could appear in AEW within the next five years. Nick said he thinks Punk is truly done with pro wrestling. Cody said fans never gave up on Punk and the door will always remain open for Punk in AEW.
-Regarding PAC being pulled from the show, Cody said it’s an ongoing situation and they wanted fans to at least be able to see the match. Cody said he wouldn’t say that PAC is out of AEW or put any heavy stock into the amount of speculation around the situation. Cody said the pro wrestling media is unregulated and they can just say anything. Matt praised Adam Page for traveling to England on 48-hour notice so that they could deliver the PAC vs. Page match on the AEW Youtube page.
-A fan noted that TNT promoted the Double Or Nothing pay-per-view during last night’s NBA playoff game and asked what type of cross promotion there will be to reach out to casual fans. Cody said it’s about pleasing and fully servicing the fans they have, which he believes will lead to more fans.
Powell’s POV: AEW broadcast team member Alex Marvez hosted the show, and Justin Roberts was also part of the broadcast. Marvez asked the trio questions during the first half of the broadcast and then they opened up for fan questions later in the show. “An Evening with Cody and The Bucks” is available via pay-per-view replay for $14.99 at FITE.TV. FITE is also off offering a four-day Starrcast weekend pass for $59.99.
Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Gursinder Singh (a/k/a Tony Gill), who explains why he asked for his release from Impact Wrestling. He also discusses his background, being trained by Lance Storm, being in the Desi Hit Squad, his future, and more.
Who would pay $15 to watch basically a talk show rerun?
It’s sounds funny, but I am serious. I would like to know if that is what people are comfortable spending their money on.
Why was the jab at Bayley necessary?
It wasn’t. Cody should watch his mouth, that’s just bad juju. If you need to knock someone else to build yourself up….guess you’re feelin a bit insecure eh?
Well supposedly she did lay on the locker room floor and throw a tantrum because she was booked to lose, which to me is a bit disrespectful to both the IIconics, and everyone else in the area. There’s got to be something there. I can’t imagine, if it was an unprovoked shot for promotion, Bayley’s the “big star” you target.