In an interview with Chad Dukes on 106.7 The Fan, Cody Rhodes explains why Washington DC was chosen to host the first episode of AEW on TNT:
“We had a really strong presence in terms of, in this era, you’re able to track a lot of data. And I know that might sound like, ‘Whoa. That’s the nerdiest answer ever.’ But you’re able to track a lot of data and see where, okay, where did the most views come from for BR Live and things of that nature? And when I say we’ve got these artists who are running this, and these inmates who are running the asylum, one of the best things that we’ve done – myself, Matt, Nick and Kenny – as EVPs with AEW, one of the best things we’ve done is said, ‘Okay, we don’t know how to do this, so let’s hire somebody who does.’
I’ll give you an example. Rafael Morffi, who came from WWE and was there with me as our market rep, that’s the individual who can look all across the board, and who can strategically place us in the best market and service every market that we possibly can, and reflect that data that’s been reflected, and appease that, and all that math and all that science. We’ve built a really great team around us, and short answer, I’m a huge fan of American history. I’m the American frickin’ nightmare. It makes perfect sense that we’re in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital. So that’s the short answer. The long answer is that we’ve got a lot of really wonderful professional people who said this is the spot you want to be for the first show.”
You can check out the full interview below:
