"I'm going to show you what we meant AEW to be" - WWE Veteran is surprised Cody Rhodes did not 'buy' Ring of Honor (Exclusive)
Amidst all the speculation around Cody Rhodes' future, Vince Russo revealed on this week's Legion of RAW why Tony Khan missed out on a big storyline featuring the former AEW EVP.
Russo addressed the reported issues between Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan and stated that the Ring of Honor purchase was a golden opportunity to create a compelling angle with Rhodes as the owner.
Russo explained that Cody could have taken ROH under his wing and molded it into what he originally wanted AEW to be instead of Tony Khan's vision for the company.
"Bro, if Cody Rhodes was having an issue with Tony Khan about the direction of the company, 'Tony, this isn't what I signed up for! This isn't what we originally agreed to. You're turning into WCW', whatever the case may be. Remember, Tony Khan is now a two-time booker of the year, and Tony Khan knows he is buying Ring of Honor. Why not say, 'Cody, wait a minute. Why isn't the angle, you buy Ring of Honor, and you turn Ring of Honor into what you envisioned AEW being?" said Russo. (46:54)
Tony Khan's acquisition of Ring of Honor has been one of the most significant developments in professional wrestling in recent times. Still, most pundits, including Vince Russo, believe that Rhodes could have been the ideal face to lead a new era of ROH.
"Bro, so simple! So freaking simple, bro! I just can't believe people in the business, like, just can't put the pieces together of what they have," stated Russo. "That would have been brilliant. You would have believed; I would have believed that Cody had the money to buy that company. 'I'm going to show you what we meant AEW to be!' Now you've got a modern-day NWO. But I don't know, bro. To me, that's not too difficult to understand." (47:47)
Vince Russo says Tony Khan might have hesitated to unveil Cody Rhodes as Ring of Honor's new owner
Russo also stressed that the "Cody Rhodes hype" did not apply to casual wrestling fans as many people remember the superstar as Stardust from his last WWE run.
The outspoken personality added that Tony Khan would never have considered having Rhodes to spearhead Ring of Honor as the AEW boss himself wanted to be seen as the face behind ROH's takeover.
"The Cody hype is only for the people that are watching the shows anyway. Bro, can you imagine a casual fan tuning in and they see Cody Rhodes, and the last time they saw Cody Rhodes, he was Stardust," said Russo. "No, bro! I've got to tell you something; I honestly believe the reason why something like that wasn't even taken into consideration was because Tony had to go out and say, 'I bought Ring of Honor.' I swear to god, bro, that's the only thing I can think of because you had a tailor-made story. But he's not going to say Cody bought it because he really bought it." (48:32)
Do you agree with Vince Russo? Did AEW make a mistake in not having Cody Rhodes take charge of Ring of Honor? Sound off in the comments section below.
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