Chief Brand Officer of AEW, professional wrestler, businesswoman, and (occasional) ring announcer Brandi Rhodes joins Adam on a special Dynamite Anniversary episode of TWM Talks!
Brandi chats to us about life behind the curtain at All Elite Wrestling, The one year anniversary of Dynamite, changing how the fans look at her, #SpeakingOut movement, how it affects AEW and the British Government’s investigation.
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On Speaking Out: “I think a lot of people want it to think that things are nice and rosy and shiny. And these problems don’t happen. But they do. And I think a lot of times people don’t want to think about those things, especially if they don’t affect them as a singular individual. It kind of forced people to have to get out of their comfort zone and think about these things and think about the possibilities of these things. So it’s definitely been an eye-opening situation. And it’s one that I hope that people, you know, continue to feel empowered, when they’re in situations, to speak up and make sure that they’re voicing, not only for themselves but for other people.”
On Government involvement in British Wrestling: It is interesting that the British Government are looking into this more seriously. And, you know, it’s not something that I think is, is a bad idea for any reason as anything that discourages people from trying to, you know, create behaviours that that can be gotten away with, in small settings, especially when it comes to things like independent wrestling, that these are smaller settings, where a lot of times people are new to the industry, and they’re not sure what’s okay and what’s not, okay. Obviously, these are things that should not be happening, but they continue to happen and have been happening for years. So, of course, you know, I’m all for any, anything that helps to quell that type of behaviour and, and make it so make more difficult for people to treat other people that way.”
On changing fans’ perceptions of her own career: “I got into the wrestling industry: “I got into the wrestling industry to be in wrestling to actually wrestle, to manage, to be a part of the on-air team in that way. So it’s something that I had been looking forward to for a very long time, and had known that I was capable of. I just needed the right timing and company and setting – that is what it took for everything to fall together. So it’s been really great. I’ve been enjoying my work with Dynamite and Dark as well, and just continuing to enjoy the ride and take it wherever it needs to go.