Cody Rhodes Discusses AEW Roster Size And Wanting Fresh Talent Over Legends

Cody Rhodes offers more insight into AEW. 

While many announcements were made at the AEW rally two weeks ago, the full roster for All Elite Wrestling has yet to be revealed. Chris Jericho, Neville, MJF, Britt Baker, Joey Janela, Penelope Ford and others have signed, and the company has entered into an agreement with OWE, but the roster remains relatively thin for a full-time promotion.

Appearing on the Breaking Kayfabe podcast, Cody was asked about the size of the AEW roster and whether more names are to come.

“Roster size has been something that’s been debated,” said Cody. “I signed four guys right before we got on the phone. The entire roster will probably not be present at Double or Nothing. We’ve got our summer show in Jacksonville lined up and we’ll be debuting new faces there. I don’t want to get into a situation where we have so much that you can’t honor somebody’s skillset. We’re looking at about 30 contracted performers at the moment.”

Cody was then asked about discussions he’s possibly had with talent under contract to other organizations. As previously reported, The Revival recently asked WWE for their release with many believing that they would be AEW bound based on their on-going “rivalry” with the Young Bucks. Cody revealed that he has to be careful who he can and cannot talk to now that he’s the Executive Vice President of a rival promotion, but he hasn’t had an issue finding talent recommendations. 

“When you’re one of the boys, you can talk to anybody. In this new role, legality is incredibly important,” said Cody. “We’ve tried to be very careful about not talking to anybody who is under a specific deal and making sure they are aware that, this is why we can’t talk to you. The thing that surprised me is…we haven’t had to communicate to anybody on that level. There’s so much fresh Independent talent. One thing that was the sweetest thing ever was, when I got back from the rally, my social media DMs just flooded. They were Independent promotions that I worked for, suggesting guys. I want to put an emphasis on ‘fresh’ more than anything.”

Earlier in the interview, Cody stated, “I don’t want legends and older wrestlers as much as I want fresh.”

WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg has been linked to AEW, but nothing official between the two parties has been announced. AEW will hold its first show, Double or Nothing, on May 25 in Las Vegas.