Cody Rhodes shares his thoughts on Roman Reigns saying he “ran away” from AEW.
Rhodes was one of the founding members of All Elite Wrestling, and he was arguably the face of the company. He won the TNT Championship three times, but he left the company in February 2022 after his contract expired. Rhodes then signed with WWE at WrestleMania 38. Though he missed a few months with a torn pectoral, he returned at WWE Royal Rumble 2023 and won the Men’s Royal Rumble to earn a title shot against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
In an interview with Amy Nemmity of WrestleJoy, Rhodes discussed the way Reigns framed his story during his promo on the March 20 episode of WWE RAW, in which he noted that “The American Nightmare” ran away from AEW and came back to WWE. Rhodes stated that he loved it, and he stated that the business “stung him”, and he had to move away.
“I love that Roman brought it up in terms of running,” Rhodes said. I have to own it. I did meet adversity and I did not say, you know what, I’m gonna put my feet in the sand and stay. I didn’t put my flag here. I’m not gonna get back to the campus. I’m gonna find a different campus. I hate the expression ‘trust the process’ with all my life. Why not create the process? Why do I have to trust the process? I’d rather create the process. Roman isn’t wrong that the business stung me, and I had to move away from where I got stung. I couldn’t just continue to get stung.”
Rhodes then detailed how he thought Reigns’ message was ironic. He noted that while Reigns is a lifelong investment by WWE, it’s just starting to pay off. He hinted that Reigns has dealt with adversity in the past before he stated that it’s ultimately up to the fans to determine what they think about his trials, his story, and his journey.
“With all of that said, it’s ironic coming from Roman, who is a lifelong investment by WWE. That investment is absolutely paying off. But it just started paying off. I’ve talked about him with the greatest of reverence and respect, because I know how absolutely dang special he is in our world. But if you’re gonna get low brow with his comments like that, just remember that if me meeting adversity and changing my ways, going out and betting on myself, is that less valuable than meeting adversity and just pretending it doesn’t exist?”
“Either way, it really shouldn’t matter because you’re absolutely, as champion proving to everyone that you are everything you say you are as champion. I feel I’m everything I say I am as the American Nightmare. So it is up to the fans to decide the verdict on these trials, on my story, and the journey. I’ve had things I’ve done that weren’t great, but I do all of them as well as the things I’ve done that were absolutely special and helped create magic.”
The full interview can be found below.
