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2022 is still creating new headlines for an already shocking wrestling year, but few things will reach the level of Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE. The news was so surprising that most fans didn’t even believe it when reports started circulating. Cody seemed like someone that would be in AEW forever as one of the original Executive Vice Presidents.
The presence of Rhodes was felt in AEW from day one, but he ended up making the huge move of returning to WWE. Cody has been a huge success and a top-tier star for WWE until his injury took him off television. Both top wrestling promotions felt the effects of such a talent switching companies. Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE deserves another look back at what caused such a shocking move in wrestling.
It Was An Awkward Ending To His AEW Run
Cody Rhodes started to feel out of place towards the end of his AEW run. Fans turned on his face character with polarizing responses most weeks. Brandi Rhodes and Arn Anderson added even stranger dynamics to his act with AEW unsure of how to navigate. It seemed like Cody was bound to turn heel with his Homelander look inspired by The Boys' villain and playing into the audience’s boos.
The final TNT Championship program with Sammy Guevara even featured an odd promo from Rhodes referencing CM Punk’s pipe bomb promo and other things that led to a wrestling movement. Cody confused us with the promo not really directed at anything beyond making a broader point about wrestling. This was likely due to his contract status leaving his future up in the air.
Rhodes’ final AEW match putting over Guevara was among the best performances of his career. The ladder match stipulation saw Cody putting his body on the line to elevate a new talent before leaving the company. There were a few references to Rhodes working without a contract, but everyone thought this was for storyline purposes.
WWE Entering The Picture
The rumors of Cody Rhodes considering leaving AEW turned into a bigger story when Fightful reported that there was strong interest from WWE. AEW was still enjoying the momentum from adding CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, and a few other major names all around the same time. WWE had yet to take a big name away from AEW the way AEW had done with some of their talents.
Cody was open to leaving AEW for WWE when the contract negotiations with AEW didn’t go as he anticipated. WWE reportedly viewed Rhodes as a potential huge addition to shake things up. Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard flew out to meet Cody and personally show how important they viewed him in WWE’s future.
WrestleMania 38was the huge stage where Rhodes returned to accept Seth Rollins’ challenge in a major way. Cody was able to come up with his entrance theme song he used outside of WWE and the same entrance and nickname from his AEW time. Vince is known for not wanting to recycle things from other promotions, so it showed how much faith he had in Rhodes to agree to it.
Why Did Cody Rhodes Shock The World?
There are a few reasons for Cody Rhodes making the shocking decision of leaving AEW for WWE. Rhodes did admit that his early AEW storyline preventing him from challenging for the AEW World Championship turned out to be a bad decision.
The creative direction felt off for Cody to have the future he wanted out of AEW. Rhodes knew that he was becoming a secondary figure in AEW after CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and some homegrown talents passed him in the pecking order.
Rumors did circulate that Cody was no longer close with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega due to his vision not being as prevalent in AEW, but he has said nothing but positive things about all involved. Rhodes listed the WWE Championship in his first WWE promos about why he wanted to come back after his historically successful time away.
Another huge factor for the move was the money aspect of being a free agent in wrestling. AEW did not offer Cody a contract in the Punk or Danielson range that he reportedly felt he deserved. WWE was willing to outspend AEW with a seven-figure offer to sweeten the pot.
Rhodes left AEW due to WWE offering what he wanted out of wrestling. Even though WWE is the bigger company, there are fewer main eventers there. Cody gets to have the contract he wanted and a chance to be the top superstar he believes he can be moving forward.
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