Cody Rhodes Makes Shocking Confession About Leaving AEW For WWE
Cody Rhodes has admitted what he really felt about leaving AEW and returning to WWE.
When Cody Rhodes walked away from AEW in early 2022 to go back “home” to WWE for a WrestleMania 38 match against Seth Rollins, it shocked the wrestling world. One year later, Cody was in his first WrestleMania main event against Roman Reigns.
Cody Rhodes was a founder of AEW when it launched in 2019 and an Executive Vice President who helped make many decisions in the company’s early years. While Tony Khan was AEW’s Owner and booker, Cody still had a lot of say in signing talent and other aspects of the promotion.
Going back to WWE about six years after leaving out of frustration was a risk for Cody at the time, but in the four years since, it’s fair to say the risk has paid off. Cody is a 2-time WWE Champion and has headlined 3 WrestleManias, with more possible to come, while becoming arguably the biggest star in the world’s biggest wrestling company.
During his appearance on The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, Cody recalled what he was thinking when he spoke to WWE about returning to the company after six years.
“I had a good gig. Contrary to what you hear, I had a good gig. I had an executive job. I loved the Bullet Club guys. Evolving and moving myself forward, it was a lot to weigh out.”
Returning To WWE Was A Gamble For Cody Rhodes
As the discussion continued, Cody Rhodes said he had doubts about going to WWE and asked himself whether it was a mistake to go back. That led Rhodes to admit it was the biggest gamble of his career.
“Obviously, opportunity is amazing, but I had to weigh it out. ‘Is this a mistake? They didn’t see it the first time. They saw a little, but they didn’t see it.’ You think the first time leaving was the biggest mistake ever. Coming back, my fear was, ‘this could be the biggest gamble of all.’
“Had I gone and belly flopped in the pool, it wouldn’t have hurt WWE at all. It would have been, ‘See, he wasn’t. He was little league all along.’” (H/T Ringsidenews)
As mentioned above, Cody Rhodes has done better than perhaps anyone expected since returning to WWE and has obviously made the right decision in leaving AEW.
Next up for Cody Rhodes is the WWE Royal Rumble on January 31st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as he attempts to win the Rumble match for the third time in his career.
The WWE Royal Rumble takes place this Saturday, January 31st, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here’s the lineup.
- Men’s Royal Rumble Match
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
- Women’s Royal Rumble Match
- AJ Styles vs. Gunther – If Styles loses, then he must retire
The Royal Rumble streams live on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, exclusively on ESPN in the United States and Netflix internationally.