Cody Rhodes spoke with The Beat on choosing which match would close "All In," if there will be another "All In," and working with WGN America. Here are some of the highlights:
Prospects of an "All In 2":
"Well I mean this crew is together a lot. One day we're all in Japan and the next day its here and when I say crew I mean more than just me and the Bucks, you know it includes Marty [Scurll], Hangman [Page], and Kenny Omega. They're all very much factored into everything that's happening. I think we've pushed off all pre-planning and speculation to September 2nd. Because it's pretty common knowledge our contracts [with Ring of Honor] are coming up. They all end on the same day, shockingly.
"I mean what do we do? We have such great things in place already. Matt, Nick, Marty, Hangman, we've had such a great time in Ring of Honor and they've been such a great partner, on this project alone, by allowing us to breach our contract to do this. None of us wanted to come at this from a place of anxiety. Instead, we wanted to look at what we've done and ask, "Okay, now what can we do?" I think September 2nd is going to be an interesting day, for sure."
Working with WGN American to put on the one hour pre-show, All In: Zero Hour:
"It came later in the game, WGN America had actually approached us about the entire show and that was a great thing except it would have to be a little bit more streamlined for television. As important as matches are to me and seeing them get proper time like you see in New Japan, we couldn't do commercials and make it two hours. So that idea went away and then it became the idea of doing a pre-show. We sort of said, 'Well, let's not do that, but instead give them two really good matches featuring from the All In crew. Let's make it something special.'
"It became an opportunity to add one more feather in our cap, so to speak. Wrestling was going to be back on a major network and it wasn't going to be WWE … or even any one company. It's just three dudes and their idea. Growing up, my dad [Dusty Rhodes] put Jim Crockett's promotion on Turner at 6:05 [PM] and what Vince did with USA [Network], then the wars. I couldn't turn down the chance at putting our show on a network."
Choosing the main event for "All In":
"The main event will be the six-man; Rey Mysterio, Bandito, and Fenix against The Golden Elite (Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi). At one point it was going to be Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon, but what you see on Being The Elite is true, as silly as it may seem. Asking Kenny to do the main event was a lot after the G1 tournament [New Japan Pro Wrestling]. But I think you have the spirit of the event in the souls of Matt and Nick. Then there's Rey who was the guy who gave me my first WrestleMania, my first break, so there's a special nod there. Also, I just want to see what they can do in the ring together. As a fan, I'm excited for that."