Cody Rhodes Clarifies Promo ‘Focus Group’ Comments

Cody Rhodes has clarified what he meant when he said he “workshops” his promos with focus groups before cutting them on TV.

Rhodes received a lot of criticism as some fans pointed out that, given some of the problems the USA has had recently regarding race and other issues, being so patriotic may not have been the best idea.

Speaking on the media call ahead of AEW Double Or Nothing, Cody Rhodes explained that he actually didn’t ‘focus group’ this promo. He said:

“I’m gonna chalk this up to me not knowing what the term ‘focus grouped’ means because I woke up this morning to a very large amount of people in my mentions, almost all of them with a Roman (Reigns) or a Sasha Banks avatar, making fun of me for using the term focus grouped. I did not focus group this promo.

“What I intended to say and I did not say correctly, chalk this up to me being a dummy, I work on my promos very hard, and a lot of old-timers say, ‘I was just doing it on the fly.’ I would say they worked on theirs very hard, whether it in the gym, whether it be in the car looking in the rear-view. So when it comes to my promos, the process is usually I voice memo it out to the people I trust the most, the legends in our industry, some coaches and some members of management, and I like to see what they think, but absolutely not, there is no AEW focus group that is listening to my interviews.

“I got to see a really good working relationship first hand between Brian Gewirtz and The Rock, and I know that’s a pretty lofty comparison, but i’’s one to shoot for because of him being such an exceptional entertainer and promo, so I like to take mine very seriously. I like to be all business about them, and last year, I was so humbled and fortunate to have won a bunch of those promo awards with Inside the Ropes and various outlets like that. I just want to continue to deliver really good content whenever I put the mic to my lips.”

Rhodes and Ogogo go one-on-one at Double Or Nothing this Sunday live on pay-per-view in the US and FITE internationally.

Ogogo picked up a rib injury in training, but has since cleared up that it’s not a broken rib as first feared.

Quote via Wrestling Inc

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• Focus Group
• Promo
• Cody Rhodes
• AEW

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