There is no actual AEW focus group for Cody Rhodes and his promos.
Cody's promo on the May 12 episode of AEW Dynamite, which focused on Anthony Ogogo and Cody becoming "The American Dream" was met with mixed reviews with some applauding Cody channeling his father and others finding it off-putting in the current climate.
Cody Rhodes was in the headlines on Thursday following an interview with Gamespot's Wrestle Buddies podcast where he said, "I workshop my promos heavily for weeks on end. We have a full focus group for them, as crazy as that sounds. This is a data-based company, so I workshop everything I do. And because my promos have been held to a really high standard--people pick at them and find things in them and they put a microscope on them, which I love."
Speaking on the AEW Double or Nothing media call, Cody clarified his "focus group" comment when asked by Chris Mueller of Bleacher Report.
"I'm going to chalk this up to me not knowing what a focus group is because I woke this morning to a very large amount of people in my mentions, almost all of them with a Roman or a Sasha Banks avatar, making fun of me for using the term 'focus group.' I did not focus group this promo. What I intended to say, and I did not say it correctly so chalk it up to me being a dummy; I work on my promos very hard. A lot of old-timers say, 'I was doing it on the fly,' I would say they work on theirs very hard in the gym or in the car. When it comes to my promos, the process is usually; I voice memo it out to the people I trust the most. Legends, coaches, and members of management and I like to see what they think. There is no AEW focus group that is listening to my interviews. I would chalk up my passion and love for promos, I got to see a really great working relationship first-hand between Brian Gewirtz and The Rock and I know that it's an incredibly lofty comparison but it's one to shoot for with him being an exceptional entertainer and promo. I like to take min seriously and be all business about them. I want to continue to deliver good content when I put the mic to my lips," he said.
That settles that.
Cody's feud with Ogogo started when QT Marshall and members of The Factory turned their back on Cody and the Nightmare family.
You can view the current lineup for AEW Double or Nothing by clicking here.
If you use any of the media call quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
