Tony Khan Details How Cody Rhodes' Exit Affected AEW

In one of the biggest stories of 2022, Cody Rhodes and wife Brandi Rhodes announced in February they would be leaving All Elite Wrestling, only weeks after Tony Khan opted not to activate an option in Cody's deal that would have kept him under contract with the promotion.

Rhodes would go on to make his WWE return at WrestleMania 38, noting that his AEW departure was caused by a personal issue between himself and Tony Khan. Rhodes is currently out of action with a torn pectoral muscle but he is expected to make his WWE return either before or at the Royal Rumble on January 28.

At the time of his AEW departure, Cody was an Executive Vice President in the promotion and Tony Khan detailed to Grapsody how Rhodes' exit affected the company.

"It was, certainly, whenever you lose a star the calibre of Cody Rhodes, it's going to have a major impact on your company and affect a number of different departments and a number of different things in terms of the presentation and the backstage. Personally, I really like Cody and I know Cody really well and he was so involved in so many different facets with the start of AEW and what we were. When he left, that was a major challenge. Going into Revolution, we had so many great stories and I think it helped us and helped keep us strong that people were so invested in what was happening in AEW at the time," Khan said.