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Cody Rhodes Leaves AEW with the Door Open to a Return to the WWE

Cody Rhodes and his wife Brandi Rhodes are leaving All Elite Wrestling, the wrestling organization he helped launch in 2019, in a move that seems to be ripped straight out of the playbook of pro-wrestling melodrama.

TMZ reports that AEW CEO Tony Khan released a statement, stating:

“Cody and Brandi Rhodes were integral to the launch of All Elite Wrestling. Cody’s ability combined with his boldness and his passion for our industry and his love for community outreach helped AEW deliver on our mission to give fans what they needed for far too long — something new, innovative and lasting.”

Cody Rhodes was one of the promotion’s top stars, winning the TNT Champion title three times for AEW.

Mark Cuban, the owner of AEW Rhodes and co-promoter of All-In, which formed AEW, was also a partner in the independent wrestling event that gave birth to it. All-In was the first non-WWE or WCW professional wrestling show in the United States to sell 10,000 tickets since 1993.TWI

When AEW was formed, Rhodes, who was executive vice president of AEW, was the company’s public face. According to TMZ sources claim that Khan and Rhodes have been having difficulties in their working relationships recently owing to Khan’s increasing prominence at the company.

Rhodes has released a statement of his own on Twitter reading:

“The ‘revolution’ was indeed televised, and I’ve been incredibly lucky to be part of that.” Rhodes goes on to conspicuously thank Khan, stating, “He’s taken the baton and run with it, and it was an honor to work for him and to know him on a personal level. He’s a beautiful soul.”


Dusty “The American Dream” Rhodes’ son, Rhodes, left World Wrestling Entertainment’s most fierce rival, AEW, in 2016 after critiquing company president Vince McMahon‘s marketing strategies.

The birth of AEW can be attributed to Rhodes, a well-known legacy wrestler who had been with WWE since 2005 and sparked the contemporary worldwide wrestling scene that led to the creation of AEW. TMZ says, however, that Rhodes may now be in talks to return to AEW. In his AEW contract, Rhodes did not include a non-compete clause.

In April, Sportskeeda wrote that Rhodes’ AEW contract was in an uncertain position, with the wrestler stating, “I’m not even on payroll anymore.” Rhodes, on the other hand, continued to work despite the fact that he had no contract and said he would await some sort of handshake agreement from Khan in the future.

Even if the tension of that scenario had led fans to believe Rhodes would leave the company he helped to build from the ground up, it wouldn’t have. In fact, former WWE manager Dutch Mantell stated in Sportskeeda’s SmackTalk that he thinks the contract narrative is simply a plot device, nothing more.

“I think it’s just something to get eyes and thoughts on AEW. I don’t think that, I mean, he’s one of the founders of AEW, just Tony Khan coming along and having the money, putting behind it. But I think they’re just working it for what they can get out of it and it will turn into an angle too,” said Mantell.

What do you think about Cody Rhodes and AEW? Do you think they’ll make up and he will return? Let us know in the comments below!

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