Cody Rhodes Calls The End Of His AEW Run 'Terrible', Refers To 'Petty Squabbles'

Cody Rhodes has admitted how his time in All Elite Wrestling came to an end was "terrible" but the former AEW EVP did note that he will forever "have a love" for the promotion despite "petty squabbles" that took place during his time there.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Rhodes addressed his AEW run, claiming that a certain section of the company's fanbase needs to see him as the villain.

"How AEW ended was terrible, really, and people are going to write books later on and these stories are going to get out there and then it's going to be a whole new ballgame...I'm not comparing myself to Batman but there is a piece of it that's really important. To certain fans from the AEW fandom, they need the story to be they didn't want me, they pushed me out. They need 'He was bad,' they need that story. They need me to be the villain. I was always fine with accepting that because of the respect I have for (AEW) in the first place, how difficult it was to do the original All In, how unbelievable the feeling was to do Double or Nothing, how fortunate we were that Tony (Khan) wanted to invest in this vision and he had a vision as well," Rhodes said.

"Regardless of any petty squabbles, I will always have a love for it. I got to wrestle Brodie Lee's final match. I got to lead people, young people behind the scenes. I will always have a love for it."

Rhodes then noted that he always knew he would eventually leave AEW, comparing the time between his two WWE runs to Hulk Hogan in the AWA before the birth of Hulkamania.

"I just remember (AEW) lovingly, and I also knew I was leaving. I knew it was a season. I knew this wasn't going to last and I knew there was something greater for me out there. And I know that might sound negative to people, but it's not. That's the biggest prize in the wrestling game. I had nothing but respect for my time there. I got to sharpen my skills, you know, like Hulkamania in the AWA right before it came to WWE, it's the same. The energy was there, the renaissance was happening, it wasn't just company-based. It was all there and I just have a love for it because I got to sharpen my skills and by the time I got to WrestleMania and WWE, I felt like okay I've come back a complete package," Cody added.

Cody founded All Elite Wrestling with the rest of The Elite and Tony Khan in January 2019 and he was an AEW EVP until his departure in February 2022. Rhodes and The Young Bucks have never been closer but he did admit he "hated" how they presented him in their memoir as the last person from The Elite to sign with AEW.

Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38. He is now the Undisputed WWE Champion.

H/T F4WOnline