Report: Cody Rhodes Asked AEW For More Money Than CM Punk & Bryan Danielson

Cody Rhodes' desire to be AEW's highest-paid wrestler may have contributed to his and wife Brandi's split from the company, reports Wade Keller.

Speaking on a PWTorch VIP audio show, Keller stated that while Rhodes started life as one of AEW's top-tier guys, the likes of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Adam Cole coming in changed this. He was no longer a "top-paid guy" in AEW, pushing him down the totem pole.

When he learned Rhodes wanted to be of that payroll status, AEW president Tony Khan decided that, in the current landscape, this wouldn't be a worthwhile business move. This was one of several things that factored into Cody and AEW's inability to come to terms on a new contract following his previous deal's expiration in December 2021.

PWInsider and Fightful had both previously reported that Cody was chasing a big-money contract as part of his AEW negotiations. WWE is now expected to land him on a bumper contract.

Keller also stated that people within AEW had stated Cody had become "a bit of a liability" to Khan and his promotion. Khan had previously claimed that he was okay with it, as Rhodes was still driving numbers, but reading between the lines of what he was told, Keller believes that people were trying to say Rhodes was a "headache" - and his segments "car wrecks."

Onscreen, Rhodes has become an increasingly divisive AEW presence over the past year or so, though he remained a quarter-hour ratings draw until the end - and put over Sammy Guevara as TNT Champion in his final match with the company. Despite this, his character direction was widely criticised by fans and critics alike, swerving between hero and villain while Rhodes himself insisted he would never turn heel.