10 Times WWE Found It Hard To Say Goodbye
9. Cody Rhodes
WWE and Cody Rhodes have been kinder to each other in 2020, but that wasn’t the case when he left the company in search of greener pastures.
While Rhodes believed in himself during his tenure, WWE didn’t see him as a top star. In 2016, the former Stardust decided to prove he was better than 90% of talent pushed before him on the independent scene, which he did tenfold.
Triple H was none too pleased. In an interview, Rhodes explained the ‘Cerebral Assassin’ was shocked that he left after everything WWE had done for his father. ‘The Grandson of a Plumber’ appreciated WWE’s generosity, but he couldn’t let it hold him back forever.
As Rhodes embarked on his future endeavors, he hit several road bumps from WWE. The most infamous was WWE preventing him from using the Rhodes surname. When asked, both Rhodes and WWE kept it cool, often stating there were no hard feelings. This was hard to take from Triple H in particular, given his "pissant company" jab.
Both parties have taken shots at each other ever since Rhodes’ WWE departure and rise to glory, with Cody blasting back at the "pissant" jab by smashing a symbolic throne. If there's silver lining as of late, it's that Cody got his last name back...