WWE Hall of Famer recalls how Cody Rhodes played a major role in laying the foundation for AEW - Reports

Speaking about All Elite Wrestling (AEW), a WWE Hall of Famer recalled Cody Rhodes' role in laying the foundation for the company

In May 2017, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer commented on Twitter that Ring Of Honor (ROH) could not sell 10,000 tickets for a professional wrestling event. Cody Rhodes, who was signed to ROH at the time, took notice of Meltzer's comment and accepted his challenge of holding an event with an attendance of more than 10,000.

On September 1, 2018, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, in association with Ring of Honor, held an independent wrestling pay-per-view by the name of All In, which featured wrestlers from around the globe. The event sold 11,263 tickets. This sequence of events eventually led to the formation of All Elite Wrestling in 2019.

WCW legend Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke with Fightful Select about several topics, one of them being All Elite Wrestling and Cody's huge role in the formation of the company.

The WWE Hall of Famer added that if Cody had not responded by taking up Dave Meltzer's challenge of selling 10,000 tickets for a wrestling show, AEW might not have existed. The American Nightmare and The Young Bucks took the bet and backed it up by organizing the All In pay-per-view in 2018, paying for the building and much of the production costs out of their own pockets.

AEW was founded in January 2019 by Tony Khan, with The Elite (Cody Rhodes, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Matt & Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks) as its first signees. The promotion held its first professional wrestling pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, on May 25, 2019, and aired the first episode of its weekly show, Dynamite, on October 2 that same year.

Since its inception, AEW has firmly established itself as the second largest professional wrestling promotion, and four years later is set to organize one of the biggest pro wrestling pay-per-views ever: ALL IN, which takes place on August 27, 2023, at Wembley Stadium in London.

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