Cody Rhodes Discusses “Contentious” Rivalry Between WWE & AEW
Cody Rhodes has lifted the lid on the “contentious” relationship between AEW and WWE as he discusses his own personal relationship with Triple H.
When Cody Rhodes left WWE in 2016 he was outspoken about the company and spearheaded the formation of a whole new organisation alongside The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega – AEW.
No stranger to a wrestling war, WWE reacted to the news that AEW’s flagship show would air on Wednesday nights by moving NXT from the WWE Network to the USA Network and the Wednesday Night Wars began. The war didn’t quite live up to the competitiveness or ratings of the Monday Night Wars from a generation before but AEW proved the decisive winner and NXT moved to Tuesday nights beginning in the spring of 2021.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Cody Rhodes, who is now front and centre of WWE’s Road to WrestleMania has explained the state of his relationship with Triple H – the man at the forefront of NXT during the war – now and how things were contentious between the two companies:
“So far, A+ in terms of — I hope this isn’t too divulgant, but nothing has been forced. I’m not trying to force my ideas or a friendship. He’s not trying, everything that he has said to me, or that we’ve talked about has been very deliberate. I get the sense that he’s expecting me to hit a homerun. Every time. Okay, I’ve had great education and great experience, I want to go out there and do that every time, and we’ve yet to really hit a roadbump.
“They’re gonna come, I keep using differnt sports analogies, but we’re gonna fumble the ball, we’re gonna have these moments. They’re gonna come, but right now it’s been a very good relationship. It’s not performative.
“You call the play and I’m going to go out there and try and do the damn thing and I’ve really enjoyed that.
“I don’t think there was necessarily bad blood, but that was a contentious thing on Wednesdays in a way for while, and if anything I hope he would look at that and respect the hustle — What I was out there trying to do then, was for everybody.”
Cody Rhodes has also given his thoughts on the backstage brawl in AEW between The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega that left him feeling “bummed out.”