Booker T says Cody Rhodes and Matt Cardona didn’t fit in AEW because they are entertainment wrestlers.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer said on the latest episode of The Hall of Fame with Brad Gilmore that the people who built AEW see wrestling differently than veterans of his era.
“And the thing is, I mean, I said it, you know, it’s not a knock or anything like that, but the young guys in AEW, those guys that created it, they look at wrestling different than we do. They look at wrestling different than guys like myself, guys like CM Punk, guys like the Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin of the world, The Rocks, you know, Kurt Angles. They look at it totally different,” Booker said.
“That’s why, you know, certain guys have gone to AEW and they just didn’t fit in. You look at, you know, Matt Cardona … went to AEW and boom, just, you know, just didn’t fit, just didn’t fit in.”
When Gilmore brought up Cody Rhodes, Booker put him in the same group.
“Cody Rhodes, same thing, you know, because those guys are entertainment wrestlers, you know, they’re not just about going out there and doing matches,” he said.
Booker also pointed to The Hurt Business.
“Even, you know, like guys like the Hurt Business. They’ve come in hot. You know, and then, you know, cooled off a little bit,” he said. “It just, it just like that in a company like that, because it seems that they’re looking to change wrestling the way people watch it, and look, it’s not, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s your prerogative.”
When Gilmore compared it to restaurants having different menus, Booker agreed.
“Every menu is different. I think that’s what it is. It’s your flavor and your cup of tea more than anything,” he said.
Rhodes was one of the founders of AEW in 2019 and served as an executive vice president before leaving the company in February 2022. He returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 and went on to beat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40.
Cardona had a short run in AEW in 2020 after WWE released him in April of that year. MVP, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin reunited in AEW in late 2024, where the group was renamed The Hurt Syndicate.
Rhodes faces Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match at WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 7, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
