Cody Rhodes Compares AEW’s Hook To Released WWE Star
Hook has taken AEW by storm since his in-ring debut late last year. But Cody Rhodes says AEW must be careful going forward if it wants Hook's popularity to endure with fans.
"There was this natural anticipation for him," Rhodes told Rasslin'. "And you'll even hear people refer to it like the meme wrestler that was kind of becoming the whole 'Send Hook', and that is not a bad thing if people are excited, if they have an interest.
"The thing you have to do, not just Hook himself but as the company, we have to turn that into, 'No no, he's not a joke'", Rhodes continued. "He's not this inside gag, he's actually going to be a wonderful pro wrestler himself and in the first outings Hook has had, he's been able to do that. That's big. That's what's so delicate about it."
Cody Rhodes recalled one instance where a wrestler's rapid rise in popularity backfired. He witnessed it firsthand while he was in WWE. Fans quickly rallied behind Fandango following his main roster in-ring debut at WrestleMania 29.
"Everyone in the crowd was going nuts for Fandango, it was insane," Rhodes explained. "But somewhere along the line, it fell back into humor and it fell back into an ironic wrestler and not an actual guy."
Hook has carried a humorless demeanor into the ring that is reminiscent of his father Taz. Hook joined his father's Team Taz faction on AEW programming nearly a year ago, lurking in the background for months before he finally had his first match.
"In this case, you got crowds chanting, 'we want Hook'", Rhodes said. "You have people going nuts for what he's doing. It's really cool to see. As far as another second-generation person watching it, all I see though when it happens is I just want to make sure we keep it going. Everything in wrestling is delicate, it is. In that case, I just want to keep it going, all the time in the world. I feel like 'The Khan' has got him in a good spot and they're gonna keep rolling."
Hook's next match in AEW is being promoted for Friday night's AEW Rampage. He'll go one-on-one against Aaron Solo.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Rasslin' with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.