AEW News: Cody Rhodes Says Company Has Only Revealed 40 Percent Of Roster So Far
In the past two-and-a-half months, All Elite Wrestling has held three events, including its first-ever pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, in May. With the All Out pay-per-view coming later this month and a weekly primetime show coming in October, the recently launched promotion is still very much on a roll, but as co-executive vice president Cody Rhodes sees it, AEW has yet to reveal most of its roster at this point in its existence.
According to WrestlingNews.co, Rhodes made his most recent comments about AEW’s roster while responding to a fan on Twitter who opined that the company missed out on a chance to sign Bill Goldberg. While there were rumors earlier this year suggesting that Goldberg could sign with AEW in an attempt to win casual or lapsed fans over, as reported by Comic Book, the former multiple-time world champion ended up returning to WWE. So far, Goldberg has competed in two recent WWE pay-per-views, including SummerSlam on Sunday night.
In response to this fan, Rhodes said that AEW wants “modern” wrestlers and big names to appeal to present-day fans and also stressed that he doesn’t mean disrespect to the legends of the business.
“We’ve revealed about 40% of the roster,” Rhodes continued in a second tweet. “Sometimes it’s better to let the painter paint and then judge the picture.”
As further explained by WrestlingNews.co, AEW currently has a total of 49 wrestlers under contract, including 37 men and 12 women. Separately, GameSpot listed a total of 65 people signed to AEW, including non-wrestling personnel such as announcers and referees.
Given the aforementioned numbers, the former outlet added that more wrestlers on that roster should be revealed to the public in the run-up to the premiere of AEW’s weekly show, which will be premiering on TNT on October 2 in Boston.
#AEWAllOut
Saturday, August 31st, 2019 – @Sears_Centre – Chicago, IL
CHRIS JERICHO takes on HANGMAN PAGE to determine the FIRST AEW WORLD CHAMPION… LIVE on Pay Per View pic.twitter.com/RB7D0wdoId— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 12, 2019
Although it remains unclear which wrestlers may be targeted by AEW in the weeks to come, there’s also a chance Rhodes may have also been hinting at new signings that may be confirmed before October. Per Wrestling Inc., Rhodes said in April that AEW “[wants] to find some big boys” to give its roster more balance, after initially focusing on a generally “young and light-heavyweight” roster that also includes proven WWE veterans such as Chris Jericho and — as of May’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view — Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose).
Furthermore, ProWrestling.com speculated that AEW could begin revealing the remaining 60 percent of its roster once it announces Jericho’s two mystery partners for his match on the promotion’s first television taping.
