Cody Rhodes recently looked back on his decision to exit AEW and come to WWE. Rhodes has been largely positive about his time in AEW while also noting that returning to WWE to “finish the story” was something he wanted to do. He expanded a bit on that during his interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight when asked about his decision to exit AEW.
“I also knew I was leaving,” Rhodes said (per Fightful). “I knew it was a season. I knew this wasn’t going to last, and there’s something greater for me out there, and I know that might sound negative to people, but it’s not. [The WWE Title] is the biggest prize in the wrestling game. You put on boots, that’s the one. I just wanted to go get it, and I have nothing but respect for my time there. I got to sharpen my skills. Like Hulkamania in the AWA, before it came to WWE, it’s the same. The energy was there, the renaissance was happening. It wasn’t just company-based. But it was all there, and I just have a love for it because I got to sharpen my skills.”
He continued, “By the time got to WrestleMania and WWE, I felt like, okay, I’ve come back a complete package. I’m in command of, ‘This is how the music goes.’ I’m in command of who ‘The American Nightmare’ is, and I can know that and understand it better than a writer or a producer, and thankfully we have all those things. But yeah, nothing but love.”
Rhodes is now the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and will next defend the title against Solo Sikoa at SummerSlam.
