Last year, Cody Rhodes tweeted some thoughts on wrestlers needing to “band together” in order to effect real change in the industry. It was interpreted by some, including this writer, as being a pro-union sentiment.
Not so, says Rhodes in a recent interview with ESPN, who provides different examples of labor organizing when discussing how All Elite Wrestling (AEW) will be better to talent than existing wrestling companies:
“We want to make this a better world for wrestling fans by making it a better world for wrestlers. So the first step you have is you up that price point and you take care of your wrestlers more. The more that happens, we can continue to go.
A union in pro wrestling -- and that’s this thing that people say all of the time, and they don’t realize it -- a union in pro wrestling would put pro wrestling out of business. But, with that said, we should be actively working towards some sort of body, and this is outside of what I’m talking about with AEW and as me in the executive role, but we should actively be working to have the happiest talent you can possibly have. Whether that starts as a talent feedback system, or a players’ league, or some sort of body where there’s a complete, transparent communication between those in the office and those in the locker room.
That’s massively important, especially when you are traveling the world. I think taking those steps, even if they are baby steps, is great.”
Because Cody is now Executive Vice-President of a company, there will be those who look at this clarification with some side-eye, claiming he said one thing as talent and another as management. Perhaps a formalized “talent feedback system” could be a good step forward that doesn’t require a legally recognized collective bargaining entity, provided the talent agree on the important issues and the company is concerned about bad public relations if they ignore their feedback.
As a layperson, though, it seems that just by forming AEW, Cody, Tony Khan & The Young Bucks have made some of this change happen. Their existence is reportedly driving up paychecks, and causing companies like WWE to pay more attention to their wrestlers’ job satisfaction. That’s a bit more than baby steps.
Thoughts?