Various: Cody on Lessons Learned from WWE Career for AEW, Hidden Gems, Indies

Cody Rhodes Comments on Using Lessons Learned from WWE for AEW’s Benefit

Bleacher Report held a recent interview with Cody Rhodes and one of the topics discussed included valuable lessons he learned from his WWE career to help benefit All Elite Wrestling.

“From a creative standpoint, I think it doesn’t benefit me necessarily, because that type of presentation they have isn’t what I’m interested in. Creatively, it isn’t something I lean on. Production-wise, I will say, having been there for the decade I was there and having grown up on television, there are so many things I was able to learn from my time with the company. So many things I want to implement; things I’ve learned not to do; a great deal of things that surround putting on a megashow.

A lot of that isn’t from the standpoint of I want it to be like this. A lot of it is from the standpoint of being a talent in the locker room. When you’re a talent in the locker room, you like that special treatment that comes from being on a big show. You like how a well-oiled production is done. You get used to it. When I left, I definitely wasn’t getting the well-oiled machine of WWE.

I’m on record about treating talent. It’s very, very, very important how you treat talent. The hot-dog-and-handshake era of our business is over. A fair wage for a fair day is important in wrestling for our stars. So, you know, I learned a great deal about production from my time there.”

WWE Network Hidden Gems Addition

This week’s addition to WWE Network’s Hidden Gems series is Black History Month themed, featuring four classic matches.

The first gem is from a December 16, 1972 event from AWA featuring a tag team match of Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch vs. Ernie Ladd & “Sailor” Art Thomas.

AWA 12/16/1972 – The Cat and The Sailor

Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch take on the tough team of Ernie Ladd and Sailor Art Thomas in this bout from Chicago.

The second gem is from a June 24, 1977 event from Georgia Championship Wrestling featuring a tag team match of Cowboy Bill Watts & “Thunderbolt” Patterson vs. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole & Gene Anderson).

Georgia Championship Wrestling 06/24/1977 – Thunder in the Omni

Cowboy Bill Watts teams with the legendary Thunderbolt Patterson to face The Minnesota Wrecking Crew of Ole and Gene Anderson.

The third gem is from a May 11, 1979 event from Stampede Wrestling featuring a singles match of Big Daddy Ritter (Junkyard Dog in WWF) vs. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart.

Stampede Wrestling 05/11/1979 – From Calgary to New York

Before he became the Junkyard Dog, Big Daddy Ritter challenged fellow WWE legend Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart in this bout from Stampede.

The fourth and final gem is from an August 1, 1998 taping at WCW’s Power Plant featuring a singles match of Booker T vs. Craig “Pitbull” Pittman.

WCW 08/01/1998 – The Spirit of Competition

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T and former marine Craig ‘Pitbull’ Pittman engage in some friendly amateur wrestling at the WCW Power Plant.

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

NJPW announced that Yujiro Takahashi recently suffered an eye injury and will be out of action for all of their New Japan Cup shows next month.

Major League Wrestling announced that Jimmy Havoc will be making appearances for the company at their April 4th Rise of the Renegades event in Queens, New York and April 5th Battle Riot II event also in Queens, New York.

Impact Wrestling announced that the replay of Friday’s weekly new episode of Impact! will air on Twitch every Monday at 6PM ET starting next week.

Lucha Libre AAA announced that Cody Rhodes will be making an appearance for the company at their March 16th Rey de Reyes event in Puebla, Mexico.