"Like when Scott Hall went over to WCW" - AEW star makes bold statement about Cody Rhodes moving to WWE
AEW star Peter Avalon had his say on Cody Rhodes leaving for WWE, making a bold comparison to the legendary Scott Hall.
Over the last three years, a trend emerged of big-name wrestlers making the jump from WWE to AEW. Cody Rhodes reversed that course as he became the first big name to go to WWE from Tony Khan's company. The fact that he was an Executive Vice President of the promotion made the move even more astonishing.
In the early stages of the Monday Night Wars, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall defected to WCW in an industry-altering move. In a recent interview with Wrestling Epicenter, Peter Avalon compared the American Nighmare's jump to Scott Hall's:
“It is exciting!” Avalon said. “It is like when Scott Hall went over to WCW and then Jeff Jarrett would go over. Seeing all these big-name wrestlers go and appear on different programs, it was like ‘wow, this is crazy!’ Seeing that happen now! Well, this is crazy! I think it is a good thing because it has people talking and if people are talking, people are making money. Good for Cody!”
Here we go…
Saturday - Montgomery, AL
Sunday - Augusta, GA
Monday - Knoxville, TN
TIX 🎟 : wwe.com/events/results… @WWE https://t.co/rLjwoJNcSX
Avalon went on to talk about the impact of All Elite Wrestling on his career and pledged his loyalty to the company:
“All Elite Wrestling has changed my life,” Avalon said. “Like you said, I’m an original! From day one, I’m loyal to AEW. I’m scheduled to appear at the end of this month back with All Elite Wrestling. I’m excited for that to be amongst the exciting things happening backstage and in the ring over there.”
Tony Khan commented on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW
AND STILL!
Congratulations to the @AEW Women’s World Champion @thunderrosa22 for winning + retaining her title here tonight at Battle of the Belts 2!
Thank you to everyone who watched #AEWBOTB2 on @TNTdrama tonight! We’re grateful for the support from all of you wrestling fans!
Tony Khan discussed the potential impact of the three-time TNT Champion leaving. He downplayed the impact by citing AEW's pay-per-view buys and ratings:
"I thought Revolution was one of the best events we’ve ever had. We had a good amount of time to prepare knowing that the departure was final. I’ve had a while to prepare for that transition. I think it was a very successful transition. We had one of our top two buy rates in the history of the company. And one of the biggest revenue-generating events we’ve ever had. Our TV numbers have been tremendous. It was a very smooth transition for us."
Over the last six years, Cody Rhodes has been a major player in the transformation of the wrestling industry. Now back in WWE, he's being presented as a major star and one of the faces of Monday Night RAW. His stated goal is to win the WWE Championship - something his father never managed to accomplish.