Cody Rhodes has opened up about his exit from AEW, revealing that the real reason behind his departure has never been publicly disclosed, even four years later. Speaking during a media appearance in New York City on The Breakfast Club, Rhodes addressed the ongoing speculation and made it clear that most fan theories are far from accurate.
Rhodes explained that the decision to remain silent about his AEW exit came largely from his wife, Brandi Rhodes. He praised her for choosing to move forward without discussing the details, calling the approach selfless.
He said, “Our departure from when we left the company we were with and helped create, and that was AEW, it came down to her deciding to not talk about it, that departure. Like, we’re not going to talk about it. We’re moving on. Did bad stuff happen? Good stuff happened too. I’m not going to talk about it.”
While that silence helped them transition into the next phase of their careers, Rhodes admitted it also created space for speculation.
He added, “One of the sad things about not talking about why we left and the departure, one of the difficult things was narratives get created. Stories get told, podcasts happen, fans literally think they know what happened when no one’s been even close. And what I would say is the selfless part, she lives with that. She owns that. She respects not just here, but the place we left enough to say, I’m not going to talk about that. And that made it so that they’re good, they’re out of here. That was very, very helpful for us. And again, good stuff happened there too. But that’s what I mean by selfless, because she lives with that.”
Rhodes did acknowledge in past comments that a personal issue played a role in his exit and that he felt disrespected toward the end of his time with AEW. Despite that, he has continued to speak positively about the company and maintains respect for the promotion.
Since leaving AEW in February 2022, Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 and has gone on to become a three-time Undisputed WWE Champion. He is now preparing for another major milestone as he heads into his fourth straight WrestleMania main event.
Rhodes is set to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the Night 1 main event of WrestleMania 42 on April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cody Rhodes Talks AEW Departure
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