Cody Rhodes isn’t submitting his promos to a ‘focus group’ after all.
Earlier this week, Cody Rhodes spoke with GameSpot’s Wrestle Buddies podcast and talked about the reaction to his May 12 “American Dream” promo, explaining that he would workshop his promos and “we have a full focus group for them, as crazy as that sounds.”
Those remarks then drew criticism, with some fans asking who would have approved his promo and who the ‘focus group’ was, and Cody was asked on Thursday if he could clarify the initial comments. Asked by Chris Mueller of Bleacher Report on the AEW Double or Nothing media call, Cody said there’s not an actual focus group in the traditional sense and he said it boiled down to not understanding the intended meaning.
“It’s a great question and I’m so excited you asked it because I’m going to chalk this up to me not knowing what the term ‘focus group’ means. Because I woke this morning to a very large amount of people in my mentions, almost all of them with a Roman [Reigns] or a Sasha Banks avatar, making fun of me for using the term ‘focus group.’ I did not focus group this promo,” Rhodes stated.
“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. And a lot of old-timers say, ‘Oh, I was just doing it on the fly,’ I would say they worked on theirs very hard, whether it be at the gym or in the car looking in the rearview,” Rhodes explained, “so when it comes to my promos, the process is usually I voice memo it out to the people I trust the most. The legends of the industry, from coaches and management, and I like to see what they think. But absolutely not—there is no AEW focus group that is listening to my interviews.
“I would just 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 because of him being an exceptional entertainer and promo. So, I like to take mine very seriously, I like to be all business about them. Last year I was so fortunate and humbled to win so many of those promo awards like with Inside The Ropes and various outlets like that,” Rhodes said. “I just want to continue to deliver good content whenever I put the mic to my lips. It’s a great question and thank you for allowing me to clear that up.”
Anthony Ogogo and Cody Rhodes will face off at AEW Double Or Nothing on Sunday, May 30 on pay-per-view.
Related: Anthony Ogogo Confirms He Has A Broken Rib Ahead Of Double Or Nothing Match With Cody Rhodes
