Cody Rhodes says Darby Allin can be the guy, but he needs to be reliable.
Rhodes, a former AEW Executive Vice President, faced Allin multiple times during his AEW run. He left AEW in February 2022 and returned to WWE, and he has since won the Undisputed WWE Championship. Meanwhile, Allin has continued to cement his status as one of AEW's top stars. He recently headlined AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam against Jon Moxley.
Speaking on Superstar Crossover, Rhodes responded to Allin, who asked whether Cody thought he could be the face of AEW on the previous episode.
"So the answer is a guaranteed Yes, but don't let Darby fool you. He was never insecure, and he was never not confident. Darby is almost overconfident, and that's that's what we do. We talk smack. We wrestle each other. This is entertainment. I don't mind it, but sometimes your overconfidence is actually arrogance, when, in his case, instead of it being arrogance, the experience that he's had now with Sting, the experience he's had seeing the different changes in the company, all of that, that is the experience that you need to lead you to, where you see the clarity, and you see the moment go, 'Hey, I can be the guy.' Absolutely, 100% could potentially be the person," Rhodes said.
Rhodes then said that the spot was available to more people than everyone thought. He stated that being the guy meant having a demanding schedule like John Cena, and if one could do that, that person might be on the path to getting that spot. Rhodes reiterated that Allin could be the guy, but he needed to be relied upon, as he referenced Allin training to climb Mount Everest and getting hit by a bus.
"Here's the 'but.' That spot is available to far more people than we think. In every company, everyone thinks it's about, 'Oh, it's the politics.' There's a degree of that in everything, sure, but it's so much more fair than you think. If you look in the mirror and say, 'Hey, I want to be in John Cena's spot,' look at John Cena's schedule for the day; if you can do it, then perhaps you're on the path to getting that spot. If you can do it every day, then perhaps you do get the spot. If you can do it every day plus one, then it's yours. I think it's a far more fair business than people think, so 100%, but there are other people that I would say that about as well. He certainly shouldn't be remotely in doubt on whether he could do that or not, but also, the stupid climbing mountains and getting hit by busses, you can't be the face of the company if you're not relied upon. You know what I'm saying? You can't wrestle anybody in your body cast. So that's dumb, but I say that with love," Allin said.
During the interview, Rhodes said that he was still trying to bring back the Winged Eagle WWE Championship. Click here to see what he had to say.
Darby Allin recently named Jon Moxley as the most underrated performer in AEW. Check out his comments here.
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