AEW President Tony Khan appeared on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Live to discuss the fan reactions of top superstar Cody Rhodes, and how Khan believes it compares to John Cena during his height in WWE. Highlights from the interview are below.
On Cody’s mixed reactions and how it compares to John Cena:
“It’s been a long time since it was the opposite of the intended reaction. I’ve known what the reaction is for a long time, and I think it’s very polarizing. It’s not all one side. I think it’s a mix of the crowd, and it’s very similar to John (Cena) in terms of how you hear a split, and there’s a ton of women and kids that are huge fans and some of the guys booing, but people are still really buying Cody. And in the right moments, they do cheer him. And we saw that when he saved PAC from Malakai and Andrade. There was a huge Cody chant, and in that context, people were really excited to see him, and the truth is I do really think the people really like Cody. When John Cena was a full-time wrestler, he’s one of the all time great wrestling stars and people really liked to see him too.”
Says people are emotionally invested in Cody the same way they were Cena:
“Of course, that reaction, in time, became more generally positive, but still, obviously, people only have grown to care more and more about John Cena. So I do think people are very emotionally invested in Cody one way or another, which is a very good thing.”
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)