Cody Rhodes On AEW Exit: "It Was A Personal Matter"

"I'm the best wrestler in the world."

by Andrew Pollard
Cody Rhodes Sammy Guevara
AEW

To coincide with his WWE return at Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 last night, Variety has released a new interview with Cody Rhodes where the American Nightmare addresses his return to Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut and his exit from AEW.

Not just did Cody detail who he spoke to about said return and his intentions, the former AEW EVP also proclaimed himself as the best wrestler in the world.

"I told Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard and Nick Khan - this very small circle of individuals - I told them what I truly believe, and it's that I'm the best wrestler in the world. And to go further with it, I actually don't think there's a close second. But with that said, the opportunity now exists to prove it, and that's what I'm most excited about."

On the topic of departing AEW, Cody stated how he chose to remain silent on his exit from the company, and that he intends to stick to his word on that. The three-time TNT Champion addressed rumours of issues with creative and money as leading to him leaving AEW, but Rhodes said it was more to do with simply being "just time" to go.

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Cody did drop in that exiting AEW was a "personal matter", but he had nothing but well wishes for All Elite Wrestling.

"It was a personal matter and we couldn't move past it. I have nothing but respect for Matt [Jackson], Nick [Jackson] and Kenny [Omega]. I'm rooting for Tony Khan. His name is going to be in the history books as someone who helped to bankroll and support this entire alternative and revolution that AEW became, but for me it was just time to move on. I get an opportunity at my dream, I get another chance at it. And you really can't leave any stone unturned with that."

Moving forward, Rhodes has signed a multi-year deal with WWE and he'll also be serving as an executive producer on the upcoming A&E documentary about his legendary father, Dusty Rhodes.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.