10 Times AEW's Cody Rhodes Broke The Internet

10. Leaving WWE

When Cody left WWE in May 2016, he walked away from the safest bet in professional wrestling. His heart just couldn't stay, and after months of begging WWE writers to end his much-maligned Stardust gimmick and numerous pitches landing on deaf ears, who can blame him?

Yet the online wrestling community was abuzz with intrigue surrounding why Cody left, not to mention the chorus of fantasy bookers left pondering what could've been done differently during his lengthy WWE run.

Wrestling's top critics found fault with WWE's broken creative system, which relegated Cody to lower and mid-card status. But mostly everyone just wished him the best moving forward. Nobody could imagine a competitor like AEW on the horizon. It didn't seem possible.

And throughout his departure, Cody was a consummate professional. Although he expressed appreciation for the opportunities afforded him by WWE and Triple H's abiding respect for his father, Cody was confident enough in his own abilities to stand his ground. He knew he could do better. He was hardly a bench player.