In 2019, Rhodes became Chief Brand Officer of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), a new wrestling promotion co-founded by her husband. At Double or Nothing, AEW's first pay-per-view, on May 25, 2019, Rhodes appeared during the women's triple threat match between Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, and Kylie Rae and announced that she was adding Awesome Kong to the match, which Baker won, establishing Rhodes as a heel. Rhodes made her AEW in-ring debut at Fight for the Fallen on July 13, defeating Allie due to interference from Kong. At All Out, she wrestled in the Casino Battle Royale and was eliminated by Baker and Allie. During the following months, Rhodes and Kong began cutting off and collecting women's hair. The Nightmare Collective later gained new members Mel and Luther. At Bash at the Beach, Mel and Kong were originally scheduled to face Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida, however Kong was not medically cleared and Rhodes would replace her in a losing effort. The Nightmare Collective was badly received by fans and in February, Rhodes left the group and Kong was off TV to film GLOW.