Why Cody Rhodes Leaving Is Best For AEW

5. Cody Has Become A "Liability" To AEW

Tony Khan Cody Rhodes
AEW

We'll never know whether Cody Rhodes was on the cusp of a monumental heel turn, or whether he simply was as deluded as his on-screen babyface character appeared lately, but we now seemingly know that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows behind the scenes where it pertains to Cody.

As per Wade Keller of the PW Torch, Cody has been described by an AEW source as "a bit of a liability" to Tony Khan and the company. Whenever someone is described as a liability, it's never a good thing. In this case though, it's even more problematic when that "liability" is a high profile talent who also impacts the promotion on an executive level.

Keller would also detail how one of the major sticking points of the recent contract negotiations between Cody and Khan, was that the three-time TNT Champion was seeking a significant pay increase. While Rhodes was initially one of the highest paid names in the company when AEW started - earning a reported $3 million per year - that is now not the case.

Clearly Cody was being paid extremely well, but he now wanted salary parity with names like CM Punk, Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson - all names who obviously were not with AEW when the promotion formed.

Should Tony Khan had agreed to, for example, match Moxley's purported $6 million per annum salary for Rhodes, that sets a dangerous precedent where other stars will be wanting big pay increases when it comes to negotiate their own respective contract renewals.

By saying no to such a high profile player as Cody, that's Khan very much putting a marker down that he won't be coerced into agreeing to deals that he doesn't feel are worthwhile to the company.

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 day job, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.