Cody Rhodes has returned to WWE, as he made his remarkable return at WWE WrestleMania 38 Night One. In doing so, his exit from All Elite Wrestling, the company he helped build from the ground up, was absolutely complete.
In some interviews after his return, he referenced a “personal matter” that he and AEW President Tony Khan couldn’t move on from. When speaking with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport, when asked about this subject, Rhodes made it clear that he couldn’t elaborate on the specifics, but they simply couldn’t agree on something. He emphasized his respect for Tony Khan and dismissed the narrative that Khan refused to give him something he asked for.
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the personal matter itself,” said Rhodes. “But it was really, it just came down, Tony Khan, who I have genuine respect for and I hope history is really kind to. Because he bankrolled this entire grassroots movement that was starting in ROH, and then All In happened, then, of course, AEW happened, and then he was able to buy that footage back. I felt like we were drifting apart. And had I asked him for this, you know, that was a story I saw, that I asked for something and didn’t get it. Had I asked for him, he’s the type of man that would have given it to me. But it just genuinely felt like it was time.
“Can’t comment on the personal nature of it, but it was nothing nefarious or scandalous. Just we couldn’t agree. And nothing but respect for him, his family, the infrastructure there. I put on the bus, I have a watch collection I just started. The first nice watch I ever got was from him. And I gave him one last year as a return gift. And I thought, do I not pack this? Is this chapter over? And I packed it because it’s never over. Part of who I am is from those ten years, and part of who I am is from the last six as well. But it was just something, and I don’t know if he’ll ever share really ultimately what went down, but it was nothing crazy. It was a rather easy decision.”
“The American Nightmare” then described how his exit wasn’t explained to the fans, and he recalled the way Ricky Starks and QT Marshall packed up his stuff he was leaving. He went on to share what Dustin Rhodes, his own brother, texted him on that fateful day.
“[It was] hard to explain, hard to explain to the fans, which we didn’t,” said Rhodes. “And hard to explain to the talent because one week I was there, then the next week, Ricky Starks and QT are bringing in bags and getting all my stuff out of the box and making the biggest scene they possibly could instead of being discreet as I asked them to. And then I was gone.
“And my own brother, you’re thinking he’s gonna text me, ‘I love you, I’m so proud of you.’ And the thing he texted me that day was, ‘Can I use your locker room.’ True older brother fashion. Can I use your locker room? Yeah, I guess, it’s not mine anymore. ”
Ultimately, Rhodes stated that his AEW experience was “wonderful”, but it was time to move on before he lost “the love.” As for fellow founders, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, Rhodes made it clear that he loved them, and he always will.
“I had a wonderful experience there, and I feel the experience had maxed out. You never wanna start getting into a situation where the love goes away. I wanted to keep the love. I know Matt and Nick and Kenny. I don’t know if they sit in circles and hate on me or talk poorly about me. I hope they wouldn’t. But if they don’t know, I try to tell them on a regular basis. I absolutely love those guys. Instrumental, and we did it together. I helped them, they helped me, so I have nothing but love, and it’ll always be that way.”
During a media scrum after his WWE return, Rhodes explained why he plans to stay away from management roles in wrestling from here on out. His comments are available here.
RELATED: Cody Rhodes WWE WrestleMania 38 Media Scrum
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