Cody Rhodes gets brutally honest about top AEW star - "You can’t be the face of the company if you’re not relied upon"
Cody Rhodes knows what it takes to be the face of a company. The American Nightmare has been a top star in both WWE and AEW, and he recently opened up on one of the talents he put on the map: Darby Allin.
Darby Allin is a fan favorite in AEW as well as one of the company's original "Four Pillars." However, many think the face-painted star takes too many risks, both in and out of the ring. Allin was set to climb Mount Everest earlier this year before a foot injury derailed his plans. He was later hit by a bus in New York City.
Darby had previously asked Josh Martinez to pass along a question to Cody Rhodes: did he think Allin could be the face of AEW? Martinez asked Rhodes this question in a recent interview, and The American Nightmare confirmed that Darby had what it took to be in that position.
However, Cody emphasized the importance of being reliable as the face of a wrestling promotion:
"If you look in the mirror and say, hey, I wanna be in John Cena’s spot. Look at John Cena’s schedule for the day. If you can do it, then perhaps you’re on the path to getting that spot. If you can do it every day, then perhaps you do get the spot. If you can do it every day plus one, then it’s yours, and I think it’s a far more fair business than people think, so 100 percent, but there are other people that I would say that about as well."
Cody Rhodes then criticized Darby for taking unnecessary risks:
"He [Darby Allin] certainly shouldn’t be remotely in doubt on whether can do that or not, but also, the stupid climbing mountains and getting hit by buses; you can’t be the face of the company if you’re not relied upon, you know what I’m saying? You can’t wrestle anybody when you’re in a body cast. So, that’s dumb. But I say that with love." [h/t Ringside News]
Darby Allin recalls his first match against Cody Rhodes
Throughout AEW's first year of existence, The Elite (Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes) worked hard to spotlight several young talents they believed could be successful. Cody Rhodes chose to take MJF under his wing, but before that, he wrestled Darby Allin.
Rhodes and Allin faced off at AEW's second-ever event, Fyter Fest 2019. The two wrestled to a 20-minute time-limit draw, which was shocking at the time, as Darby was relatively unknown.
Darby Allin recalled his match with Cody Rhodes in a recent interview with Kenny McIntosh for Inside the Ropes:
“Going into that match, I literally knew I had to do everything. I had to knock it out of the park. You only get one chance at a first impression. So on the independents, I was never really the guy; I was never really given the main event spot. ... So I was given this opportunity, and it was Cody’s idea to work me. I was like, 'Woah, this is crazy!' Considering I was never the top guy on the independents, to get that opportunity I was like, 'This is gonna be crazy. I gotta knock it out of the park!' I was obviously super nervous for that."
Darby quickly rose through the ranks in AEW and even defeated Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship. Whether he can one day become the face of the company remains to be seen.