WWE veteran says Tony Khan didn’t understand the reverse effect of Darby Allin’s controversial AEW promo (Exclusive)
A former WCW writer said that Tony Khan did not understand the reverse effects of AEW star Darby Allin's promo on his company. The writer in question would be Vince Russo.
On the February 14 episode of Dynamite, Darby Allin referenced Cody Rhodes, as he wanted to give him credit for being the man who brought him into AEW. Being the popular star that he is now, this instantly got the fans chanting The American Nightmare's name.
On the latest edition of The Wrestling Outlaws hosted by Dr. Chris Featherstone and featuring EC3 and himself, Vince Russo mentioned how he felt that Tony Khan might have never understood what effects the promo brought. He might have commended Darby for his heartfelt promo, but he did not understand that this ended up promoting a rival company's main star.
"I'll be honest with you Chris (Featherstone), what EC3 and I just spoke about here, I don't think Tony Khan would understand that at all. I guarantee you Tony Khan put it over that it was a great promo and didn't even understand the reverse effect it had by the crowd chanting the name of the top guy in the other promotion. I guarantee you, he didn't even see that," said Russo. [8:58-9:27]
Watch the full video below:
Darby Allin breaks silence after his AEW Dynamite promo
A few days after he confronted The Young Bucks on Dynamite, the former TNT Champion broke his silence on why he referenced Cody Rhodes during his promo.
While talking to Digital Spy, Darby Allin revealed that this was because he wanted to acknowledge The American Nightmare as being the reason he was in AEW.
"That's easy because he's [Cody Rhodes] the reason I'm in AEW. You think back to my debut, I wrestled him at Fighter Fest and we went a 20-minute Broadway draw," Darby said.
He talked about how Rhodes was the one who gave him a shot, and he wanted to give him the credit and respect he deserved.
"For him to take a chance on me that early... I was relatively super unknown still, I was never really the guy on the independent scene. He did that. You've got to give respect where respect is due. I feel very strongly on paying homage to how I got here because I never thought I was going to get here."
Cody Rhodes and his feud with The Bloodline is the most talked about feud across the industry today, and this will not die down till WrestleMania 40. Chants of his name on AEW Dynamite, of all places, prove just how big of a star he is.
How do you feel about Rhodes' run as he aims to finish the story? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit The Wrestling Outlaws and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you take any quotes from this article.
Vince Russo thinks Tony Khan does not care about AEW ratings