The final episode of AEW Dynamite ahead of Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view event had already gone off the air when All-Elite Wrestling executive vice-president and current TNT Champion Cody grabbed the mic and made an announcement to delight of the crowd.
 
His family’s adopted surname Rhodes, which he has not been able to use professionally for legal reasons, is now back in the fold.
 
While Cody is excited to once again control the full name that he has been most notably associated with, don’t expect to hear it at the pay-per-view or the next time you tune in to the promotion’s weekly programming.
 
“I’m very happy about being Cody Rhodes again,” Cody said during a media call. “The details of it all aren’t important other than it was a very positive, no-hard-feelings-on-either-side type scenario. I will say though, it’s not something I probably will use in the wrestling space. I’ve gotten very used to ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody. I like how [AEW ring announcer] Justin Roberts says it. I just like it.
 
“I’ve liked it for some time. Where I’m most excited about ‘Cody Rhodes’ being available again is when it comes to third-party ventures and things like ‘Go-Big Show,’ that I just took part in, the show I was part of that’s coming to TBS, other projects like that.”
 
Roberts will be introducing the American Nightmare on Saturday when he puts the TNT title on the line against Darby Allin at Full Gear. Cody says that his 27-year-old opponent has shown a lot of growth and become an important part of AEW during his time with the company.
 
“I had a conversation with Jim Ross about Darby – Who is Darby going to be in the future for AEW? Where does he play and how this is a tough draw for him to be in there with me when I’m still on the climb up,” said Cody. “This is a totally different Darby; this is Darby that now has experience with Jon Moxley. This is a Darby that is not bewildered by the big lights of this anymore. Darby is one of the most dedicated wrestlers at AEW.  He doesn’t party, he doesn’t politic. He consistently thinks about his own brand and how his brand can lean into the AEW brand. He is a loner, but I don’t know if he realizes he’s also a leader because of how he leads by example.”
 
Another wrestler that has taken advantage of his time in AEW is Eddie Kingston.  While not new on the wrestling scene, the 38-year-old has had a meteoric rise since joining the promotion over the summer. Now the 18-year veteran will get a shot at wrestling for the big prize on Saturday, when he faces Moxley for the AEW world championship. Cody has nothing but praise for Kingston’s ability to move the fans with both his words and actions.
 
“[Wednesday] night, Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley had a piece of television that’s really been a lightning rod in the discussion of promos and interviews,” he said. “The most important thing in a promo or an interview is that you touch the audience in their seats, and you have to connect with them. Suspension of disbelief is not what sells tickets in wrestling, [it’s] the personal experience, the connection, the personality connecting to another personality. 
 
“If you’re watching AEW you have your people who you want to win, you have your people that you don’t want to lose, you have your people that you like to root against. Eddie has that ability to connect to an audience and he has it with his wrestling ability in the ring and he has it with his ability on the microphone. That’s what a wrestler is, that what a total package is. This has to be a big moment for him, and I am confident he is going to execute.”
 
There has been some disappointment among fans about the build-up to Hikaru Shida’s women’s title defence against former champion Nyla Rose, the person she beat to claim the belt. Cody says that in AEW, unlike other organizations, the fact that two of the best in the division are facing off is the perfect build for what should be a great match.
 
“I do understand that for the last 20 years, fans have been conditioned to think that every match is going to start with an invisible camera and a piece of cake in catering and someone takes that last piece of cake and now there’s drama, now there is a storyline,” said Cody.  “In our case we’re sports-centric, I meant it when I said it. I hope folks aren’t disappointed when they get this actual, wonderful match between two incredible female performers. Shida, there is no one better and I’m talking about our women’s division, our men’s division.  But I am aware that for 20 years, they’ve been conditioned for every match needs to have a ‘War and Peace’ story connection to it. That will not be the case in AEW.”
 
While a lot of great young performers will be in the spotlight on Saturday, some of them will be accompanied by recognizable names and veterans of the business. Cody says that not overselling the legends is the most effective way for them to do what they do best.
 
“I think it’s about bringing in people at a different phase in their careers.  If you look at Vader in the early 90s when they paired him with Harley Race when Dusty put him and Harley together, it was a match made in heaven. When we look at how we present our legends and luminaries, we present them as they are. We’re not trying to tell you they’re in their prime, we’re telling you they’re the experienced elder statesmen and stateswomen of our world. They’re passing on the knowledge. Arn [Anderson] is a great example, Arn is not an on-screen manager, he is genuinely a coach and he has been for me since 2007. No one was harder on me when I first started and debuted as television wrestler than Arn Anderson. There ain’t nothing fake about Arn Anderson as a coach.”​