Tony Khan Admits He Had Doubts About Bold Cody Rhodes AEW Idea

The AEW President, Tony Khan revealed how he had doubts about a brave idea by Cody Rhodes.

After his first departure from WWE in 2016, Cody Rhodes reinvented himself on the indpendent wrestling scene and also helped in the formation of All Elite Wrestling in 2019. As he was one of the top guys in the new promotion, Cody challenged Chris Jericho for the AEW World Champions at Full Gear 2019 with a condition that he will never challenge for the World title if he loses.

Cody Rhodes ended up losing to Chris Jericho and he never challenged for the AEW World title until his exit from Tony Khan’s promotion in 2022 despite winning the TNT Championship three times during his tenure. The American Nightmare later returned to the WWE and is one of the biggest babyfaces in the company right now. Meanwhile, Khan recalled a bold move by Cody during his time in All Elite Wrestling.

Tony Khan was doubtful about a bold stipulation by Cody Rhodes

Speaking with Case Lowe on Q101, Tony Khan revealed that putting the stipulation of never being able to challenge for the AEW World Championship in 2019 was Cody Rhodes’ idea but Tony had reservations about it despite the intrigue being added to Cody’s title match against Chris Jericho at Full gear 2019:

In the case of Cody, it was Cody’s idea to do that. I did have some reservations about it at that time. He felt pretty strongly about it, and that’s how it came to be. I went along because I can see why he wanted to have that, and it would certainly build unpredictability around the event. It did add intrigue, and that was a great show and a great match,” Tony stated.

Tony Khan went on to praise Cody Rhodes as the TNT Champion and revealed that he felt strongly about not ever challenging for the AEW World title, so he went along with Cody’s decision:

The aftermath did create challenges. Not long after that, the pandemic hit, and I had the idea for the TNT Championship, and I think Cody was great as the TNT champion, to be the first champion and defending the title on TV. I did have reservations about [him not getting a world title shot], but it was something he felt pretty strongly about, so I went along with it.” [H/T Fightful]

Tony Khan confirms the infamous Full Gear 2019 stipulation was Cody Rhodes’ personal idea:

“It was Cody’s idea to do that. I did have some reservations about it at the time, and he felt pretty strongly about it. That’s how it came to be. I went along because I could see why he… pic.twitter.com/akdiRMRh7s

— Drainmaker (@TheDrainmaker) July 7, 2026

Nevertheless, Cody Rhodes went on to become a multi-time Undisputed WWE Champion after he left AEW in 2022.

Also read: WWE Star Cody Rhodes Is P*ssed For A Surprising Reason