The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

AS I told you in a previous column of the Press Box, pro wrestler Cody Rhodes was following in his late father’s - the American Dream Dusty Rhodes - footsteps. In the ring, and out, from both a performance and business aspect.

Rapidly becoming one of the most influential players in the pro wrestling game.

The news officially arrived through a pair of statements, and a subsequent press junket, the Jacksonville Jaguars owners Shahid “Shad” Khan and his son Tony made their bold new foray into the pro wrestling business official on Tuesday.

The name of the new promotion is ALL ELITE WRESTLING, and it has aspirations to compete with the WWE.

According to last Tuesday’s press release, Shad is “the lead investor, a supporter and a backer of All Elite Wrestling,” while Tony had previously been announced as the company president.

Some questions still linger, including no TV deal in place – but the Khans did put some additional cards on the table this week.

The most compelling of those was star power.

Chris Jericho, PAC (Neville in WWE), Joey Janela and his valet/sometimes tag team partner Penelope Ford, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and Dr Britt Baker DMD (that’s not a gimmick, she’s a real dentist) joined the previously announced signings to the AEW roster.

There were already plenty of big names on that roster too: Cody Rhodes (also a vice president), The Young Bucks (ditto), Brandi Rhodes (also Chief Brand Officer), their “Elite” stablemate Adam Page, and SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky). AEW also announced a working agreement with China’s Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, which is run by Nobuhiko Oshima, better known to fans as CIMA from his time in Japan’s Dragon Gate and his short run as Shiima Nobunaga in WCW in the late ‘90s.

Cody, who has been very vocal about the sport on labour issues, also pledged to change the economy of wrestling.

But while he stressed better pay, there were still plenty of questions concerning employee status and extending health insurance to wrestlers.

Medical costs for injuries sustained in an AEW ring will be covered by the company, though, which is comparatively enlightened by wrestling standards.

(WWE generally does this as well, but there have been a few notable exceptions).

Cody also pledged that female talent will be paid equally what their male counterparts make. There is still the question of where fans will be able to watch all this.

AEW’s first show, the sequel to Cody and the Bucks’ “All In” pay-per-view, will be “Double or Nothing,” on May 25 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas; PAC vs. Page was strongly hinted at as the main event for that one.

The second show, with a large but unspecified portion of the gate going to victims of gun violence, will be held in Jacksonville.

No date or show name was announced.

WWE has been without a major competitor since WCW was folded by Turner Broadcasting, its parent company and domestic TV partner, back in 2001.

The Khans have the money, connections and motivation to mount a real challenge in a way that nobody else has to date, but with no TV deal yet it’s still unclear just how this will all work.

There are some promising rumours, there - the company reportedly has numerous suitors, including TNT, the former home of WCW Monday Nitro.

A TV deal would make what’s already a big story even bigger and crazier, but it was clear that AEW was aiming high since its trademarks surfaced in back.

It’s still a long ways from air, but that Tuesday Night Dynamite trade mark sure sounds custom made for TNT, and a direct challenge to the WWE’s Tuesday Night Smackdown brand.

Let’s get ready to rumble!!

• Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1.