Cody Rhodes recently shared his thoughts and experiences on the Insight podcast, covering a range of topics related to professional wrestling and his time with AEW.
Currently being a leading figure in WWE and no longer associated with AEW, Rhodes expressed his ongoing interest in the wrestling promotion he co-founded with Tony Khan, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega.
Rhodes remarked, “To a segment of AEW fans they need the narrative to be that they didn’t want me, they pushed me out, they need me to play the villain. I was always fine with embracing that given the respect I have for it in the first place. The challenges we faced to put on the original All In, the thrill of Double or Nothing. We were lucky that Tony (Khan) was eager to invest in this vision and he had one of his own. Then there’s Matt and Nick (Jackson) during the BTE era and my competition with Kenny (Omega) in New Japan, which was tremendously profitable for New Japan and brought huge success to Ring of Honor at the time.”
He further mentioned remembering his tenure with AEW fondly, “I knew I was leaving. I knew it was a chapter in my career, I knew it wasn’t going to last, and I knew there was something bigger waiting for me. Honing my skills there, like Hulkamania in the AWA, before it hit WWE. There was a Renaissance happening, it wasn’t just focused on one company.”
Rhodes also addressed The Young Bucks’ claim that he was the last EVP to sign with AEW, saying, “I absolutely hated that in The Young Bucks’ book, they mentioned I was the last to sign. Some AEW defenders, who probably don’t realize they’re deterring people from their product more than attracting, often cite this fact. But the truth is, I was just as engaged in it as anyone else, despite signing last.”