Back in 2019, Cody Rhodes and The Elite turned the wrestling world upside down when they announced a new promotion called AEW. In the years that followed Cody was a fixture on AEW programming, but he shocked the world once again when he left the company in 2022
Since then Cody hasn’t revealed the specific details regarding what led to his AEW departure, but he recently explained during a recent interview with Bill Simmons for The Ringer that he felt disrespected, which was something The American Nightmare wasn’t going to stand for.
“In the end, the way I kind of see it is if I felt disrespected ever at WWE, that’s one thing. That’s a company that was built—you know, that’s the Yankees. That’s the flagship of it all. If I ever felt there, you know, I was a number on a sheet, maybe. But, feeling disrespected at something I built with my friends, that we built. Feeling disrespected there, I wouldn’t stand for it.”
“It was one of those where it was… f*** it. I did way more here than you think. And you’re going to find out the moment I’m out the door. I don’t believe in, like the cold-hearted, backstabby type of revenge. The greatest revenge on earth is success. And I felt like we were sitting on something wonderful. Something great. A huge, potentially with what I was doing with ‘The American Nightmare’ as a bad guy, as a good guy, something in between. We’re sitting on something magic. And if I’m not going to do it in the house that I literally with Matt, Nick and Kenny built, then buddy, I’m going elsewhere.”
“There’s clearly bad blood, but there’s also clearly respect and love.”
Cody Rhodes discusses what led to his departure from AEW. pic.twitter.com/U8RYZ90rHD
— The Ringer (@ringer) July 31, 2025
Following his return to WWE, Cody went on to win the Undisputed WWE Championship when he defeated Roman Reigns in the main event at WrestleMania 40. He is currently set to main event SummerSlam this weekend when he challenges John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at MetLife Stadium.