Update On The Evolving Landscape Headed Into 2019

As we head into 2019, there are plenty of unanswered questions surrounding what the pro-wrestling landscape will look like in the new year. One of the most burning questions is where will members of the Elite end up?

Cody, the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and eventually Marty Scurll (he’s under contract to ROH until the spring) are expected to form the nucleus of the All Elite Wrestling. Still, many members of the Elite are hoping to continue working with New Japan Pro Wrestling next year.

What could possibly prevent the Elite from returning to NJPW, is the promotion’s approach to talent-sharing deals. This issue was addressed in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Obviously, both AEW and ROH will want a business relationship with New Japan,” Meltzer wrote. He would continue to say every promotion in the United States would like to have such a relationship.

“New Japan has blocked its talent from working for Impact, even though Don Callis is an announcer for New Japan, because of the ROH relationship,” he continued. “They have not blocked people from working for MLW.”

The question then becomes whether NJPW will allow their talent to work for All Elite Wrestling as they do for MLW or if they will block them from doing so, as they have done with Impact Wrestling.

A possible sign the Young Bucks could be staying occurred this week, however. The popular tag-team announced they are finally being flown first-class to Japan for NJPW shows. This was something the brothers had complained about on their YouTube series in recent weeks.

“New Japan could work with both AEW and ROH,” Meltzer concluded. “The ball really is in their court.”

We expect to hear some big announcements out of the Elite camp after New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event on January 4th.

Cody & Brandi Rhodes Watch Jackson Jaguars Game In Owner’s Box

Cody and Brandi Rhodes spent an NFL Sunday inside the Jacksonville Jaguars’ owner’s box yesterday. The NFL franchise is owned by the billionaire Khan family. The Jags also share the same registered address as All Elite Wrestling.

Cody didn’t publicize the trip on social media as he does for most things, however. Brandi, on the other hand, felt it necessary to discuss her choice in wardrobe with her followers.

Cody recently traveled to Australia for a tour with World Series Wrestling. Despite having a torn meniscus, Cody worked the tour doing Meet and Greets. He also defended the IWGP United States title on 3 occasions by defeating Joey Ryan in a staring contest. During the tour, he told fans to expect an announcement regarding All Elite Wrestling in January.

“At a meet and greet in Melbourne, Australia, Cody was asked about a new promotion and said to wait for January as an announcement will be made, and said the announcement would be bigger than anyone expects,” Dave Meltzer wrote in this week’s Wrestling Observer.

Last Tuesday, Cody put out a Tweet asking “Who are some of the hottest male/female independent acts not signed anywhere?” Fuelling speculation the Elite is looking to bring in unsigned talent to their new promotion.

Young Bucks Comment On All Elite Wrestling Trademarks

From our first report to being an actual registered company who is preparing for its official launch next year, All Elite Wrestling has traveled very far in the last couple of months.

However, the main people involved with the promotion are still playing with the report. Some of them are like Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes who are just having fun.

Then there are people like the Young Bucks who also have legal limitations since they are still under contracts.

However, this is not going to stop people from discussing it. It also means that whether or not they can answer the questions, the people who are involved with the promotion are still going to be asked about it.

This was the case during the latest episode of Wrestling Perspective podcast, where the host Petey Williams talked to the Bucks about the promotion, asking them what they can say on the situation.

Answering the question both the brothers tried to protect the information and work around the question.

Matt Jackson said that they are in a situation where they don’t really know what they are going to do. Though he accepted that after All In they have offers from investors which they are still thinking about.

Nick Jackson took a slightly different route and accepted that they have offers from every major company in the world. He explained that they have not said no to anyone since they are keeping their options open.

Although whether or not they accept it, AEW has already become one of the hottest topics of discussion among fans. It doesn’t look like these discussions will be cooling down anytime soon.

Cody Hints “All Elite Wrestling” Announcement Coming In January

Cody, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Adam Page are all finishing up commitments in ROH and NJPW at the moment. When 2019 hits, however, it’s looking as though the group will be part of a new promotion, All Elite Wrestling.

Cody was asked recently at a Meet in Greet for World Series Wrestling in Australia about the promotion. He indicated an announcement would be made in January. Cody also stated the announcement will be bigger than expected.

Cody’s answer to the question was covered in this week’s Wrestling Observer:

“At a meet and greet in Melbourne, Australia, Cody was asked about a new promotion and said to wait for January as an announcement will be made, and said the announcement would be bigger than anyone expects,” Dave Meltzer wrote.

Cody has also doubled-down on his statements that he will be finishing up with Ring of Honor after Final Battle. He has said his title match with Jay Lethal will be his final match with the promotion. The angle is if Cody wins he’ll bring the title with him into free agency.

Cody also appears to be scouting talent. He sent the following out on Tuesday evening:

"Curious. Who are some of the hottest male/female independent acts not signed anywhere?"

What top unsigned talent would you like to see Cody bring to All Elite Wrestling??

Cody Takes Shot At Triple H, Offers Advice To Deonna Purrazzo

Cody Rhodes is generally complimentary of Triple H when he speaks about his time in WWE. He decided to take a jab at WWE’s COO recently on Twitter, however.

Cody’s jab came after it was revealed that Deonna Purrazzo has pulled out of All-In on September 1st, 2018. Speculation is Purrazzo is likely going to be competing in the Mae Young Classic next month.

“It’s been incredible to see first hand what @MattJackson13, @NickJacksonYB, & @CodyRhodes envision for pro wrestling. I am so sad I won’t be wrestling at #AllIn but my heart will be there September 1st.” Purrazzo tweeted.

Cody responded to Deonna’s Tweet with some advice on how to handle her potential photo with Triple H:

“Take 1 large step forward in the photo, he likes to make people look shorter than him. Good luck D. Beat everybody. Run up the score.”

Last month, Cody addressed the possibility of WWE signing talents scheduled to appear at All-In. The discussion began when a fan asked Dave Meltzer on Twitter about how WWE might decide to counter the Chicago event.

“Nope and tickets are sold,” Meltzer responded to a fan’s question of possible WWE action against the event. “All they can do it try and sign the talent on the show and pull them, and most are under contract elsewhere past that date.”

Cody saw the Twitter conversation and responded. “That’s a possibility,” Cody admitted. “Everybody has different goals. If your goal is to take a meet/greet style handshake photo, and pretend to be excited about going back to wrestling school…that’s your prerogative ha.”

Cody Left WWE 2 Years Ago, Here’s What’s Happened Since

Cody Runnells was granted his release from WWE on May 22nd, 2016. A lot has happened since that time. It was believed then that Cody was frustrated with WWE’s creative department. He had been pleading with writers to end the Stardust gimmick for months and felt his numerous storyline pitches were being ignored.

Shortly after Cody was released, several members of the media chimed in with their belief WWE never gave Cody a chance.

“I can’t say I blame him a bit. Not even a little bit. WWE never gave him a real chance, and that’s just sad to me,” Dave Scherer of Pro Wrestling Insider stated.

Dave Meltzer noted at the time that Cody was “used as more of a lower and mid-card wrestler in a number of changing roles”, and also added that “his career had gone nowhere and he hadn’t been used well.”

Cody’s frustration would continue shortly after leaving the company when it was revealed WWE would be preventing him from using the last name “Rhodes”. Although he had never used the name outside of WWE, Cody protested against the patenting of a name his father made famous and that was associated so strongly with his family.

Cody debuted in Ring of Honor at the Final Battle PPV that December. He promptly turned heel during his match with Jay Lethal at the event. Cody then signed a deal to make Ring of Honor is home promotion but a few months later the deal would be re-worked.

On December 10th, 2016, Cody was shown in a video package which aired during NJPW’s World Tag League. Cody was announced as the newest member of Bullet Club.

Cody won the ROH World Title at Best in the World 2017. He defeated Christopher Daniels after being involved in a 3-way feud for the title which also involved Jay Lethal.

He defended the title 14x and held it for 175 days before dropping it to Dalton Castle at Final Battle 2017. Cody has only recently announced he plans to cash-in his rematch clause later this summer.

That September, Cody reacted negatively to news WWE would be running an event named Starrcade:

Michael Hayes then offered Cody a spot on the show:

Just days after Hayes’ offer to appear on a WWE show, Cody and ROH announced he had signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the company.

Tension began to mount between Cody and Kenny Omega over the leadership of Bullet Club in 2017. This played out mainly on the YouTube series “Being the Elite” as well as on NJPW and ROH shows.

In 2018, the long-teased rivalry between Omega and Cody kicked off. Cody turned on Omega at the New Beginning in Sapporo after Omega lost his IWGP US title to Jay White. The split in Bullet Club would lead to a Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers match at Strong Style Evolved and a match between Cody and Omega at ROH’s biggest show of the year.

Cody would defeat Omega and recently defeated Kota Ibushi at Wrestling Dontaku 2018. There has been tension teased between Marty Scurll and Cody recently as well which could turn into a storyline soon. His feud with Omega appears to be on the backburner as Omega prepares to face Kazuchika Okada on June 9th, 2018.

Not long after leaving WWE, Cody tweeted a list of goals he was setting for himself. One goal he has mentioned repeatedly in the last 2 years is to main event a show in a 10,000 seat arena.

The All In event organized by the Young Bucks and Cody sold out the Sears Center in Chicago just minutes after going on sale. Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the event.

It’s been an eventful 2 years for Cody, ROH, NJPW and Bullet Club and it’s possible we haven’t even seen the full extent of what Cody can do outside WWE.

Cody Tells Vince Russo To Stay Away From All In

Controversial wrestling personality, Vince Russo, has expressed his desire to appear at Bullet Club’s All In event on September 1st, 2018. For his part, Cody has expressed his strong desire Vince Russo not appear at the event. Cody also recently announced he has booked his dog, Pharoah, for the event.

This dynamic recently led to a series of Twitter messages I have curated for you below. Enjoy!

Cody responded to Russo’s text not long after.

Vince Russo then sent out a series of additional Tweets:

The above Tweet could be construed as Russo saying the style of wrestling at All In would be too dangerous.

The above Tweet seems to insinuate Russo feels he is being ostracized for having a perspective which deviates from the norm.

Velveteen Dream has been cutting some anti-independent wrestling fan promos as of late.

Russo gives the old “Sorry Not Sorry” line.

It’s not completely clear what Russo’s opposing viewpoints are although he seems to indicate modern wrestling is a little too dangerous.

Cody Announces Plans To Run For Texas State Senate in 2020

Former Ring of Honor World Champion, Cody, has announced plans to run for the Texas State in 2020. The announcement was made on the season premiere of “Being the Elite” released last night.

Cody recited a speech from a Harry Potter movie into a mirror as if it was a political address and then handed Page a tablet with a “Cody for Texas State Senate 2020” logo.

Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes With An Interesting Twitter Exchange

Former members of Legacy, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, had an interesting exchange on Twitter recently.

Cody was interacting with a fan when Orton decided to chime in.

Earlier, Cody had sent out a Tweet stating his belief that Vince McMahon doesn’t hold wrestlers back. He was responding to a fan who said his comments were political:  "Don't comment directly on my tweet as if I don't see it. How's my answer to a fan in a random Q/A remotely political? I have zero to gain. I worked there, you didn't...you bought a ticket, not an education. Sit the fuck down."

Orton was impressed by Cody’s handling of the situation:  "DAMN! (Ron’s Simmons voice) Can’t wait to have you back one day codeman. Legacy reboot? Ha I kid I kid"

Cody responded with what is likely an inside joke:  "...lean your head out the window and get some air on those stitches..."

Randy Orton led the stable “Legacy” from 2008-2010. Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. were his two main cronies during that time. Dibiase has since retired and Cody left WWE in 2016 and is now a former Ring of Honor champion, having lost the title to Dalton Castle at Final Battle.

First All In Wrestler Announced

Cody Rhodes has announced that he will participate at All In!

Cody on When 10,000 Seat Arena Location Will Be Announced

Cody Rhodes spoke with ESPN yesterday and confirmed the Bullet Club will be making an announcement in 2 weeks regarding the location of their self-financed show.

“We’ll have a date and a place within two weeks. That’s why I went ahead and commented on the original story, because it’s far enough along in the process that people need to know it’s happening. I was confident enough to say let’s do it. Matt and Nick were confident enough to say let’s do it, but this is something that hasn’t been done. A lot of things have to happen. I think I’m most excited about the creation process. Putting this together with those two guys myself. Some of the stuff that we’ve already got on board — not talent-based, but as far as people who are involved with this and people who have put some confidence in us, it’s just crazy.”

Cody & Bucks Planning Self-Financed 10,000 Seat Event In 2018

The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes are planning something big for 2018.  Word around the wrestling world is the Bullet Club members are in talks with multiple venues to put on a 10,000 seat event.

You may recall, The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer tweeted earlier this year saying Ring of Honor wouldn't sell out a 10k seat show "any time soon" and Cody responded saying he'd "take that bet."

Sources tell us the wrestler has been dedicated to making it happen since, so the trio recently decided to take things into their own hands by self-financing the event - which is tenatively being called "All In" - and things have rapidly progressing the past few weeks towards an official announcement.

We are being told the current front-runner locations for the show are Chicago, London, San Francisco and Ontario, California.

Sources say The Bucks and Rhodes are looking to partner with Ring of Honor, who they have exclusive domestic contracts with, but it's unclear if an official deal has been worked out yet.

Cody's "Spend it now, Make more later" catchphrase has never been more appropriate.

Cody Rhodes Takes On Meltzer

A wrestling fan took to Twitter and asked the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, "Do you think Ring of Honor can ever sell out an arena with 10k + fans? Something like Madison Square Garden?"  Meltzer responded to the fan by saying, "Not any time soon."

It only took Cody Rhodes ten minutes to respond to Dave Meltzer.  Cody tweeted back, "I will take that bet Dave.  I already gave them their biggest buyrate.  Put The Bucks and I on the card and three months to promote."