Cody Rhodes: Contrary To What You Hear, I Had A Good Gig In AEW. I Loved The Bullet Club Guys

Cody Rhodes shook up the wrestling world in 2022 when he left AEW and returned to WWE. Rhodes as an Executive Vice President in AEW and helped found the company in 2019, just years after leaving WWE over unhappiness with his creative direction.

When Rhodes returned at WrestleMania 38, he did so not as Stardust or “Dashing,” but as the “American Nightmare,” a persona he created on the indies and AEW.

Speaking to The Undertaker on Six Feet Under, Rhodes discussed his return to the promotion.

“I was presented as if I never existed there in a way. I was presented as this fully polished ready….if you didn’t know and you were this young kid watching you were like, ‘that’s so cool’ and you jumped right in. If you did (know), you were rewarded for knowing the journey. The situation, looking back at it now, so many things were happening. I had two television shows on Warner Media. I had to juggle that. I had to really weigh it out. Obviously, opportunity is amazing, but I had to weigh it out. ‘Is this a mistake? They didn’t see it the first time. They saw a little, but they didn’t see it.’ You think the first time leaving was the biggest mistake ever. Coming back, my fear was, ‘this could be the biggest gamble of all.’ I had a good gig. Contrary to what you hear, I had a good gig. I had an executive job. I loved the Bullet Club guys. Evolving and moving myself forward, it was a lot to weigh out. had I gone and belly flopped in the pool, it wouldn’t have hurt WWE at all. It would have been, ‘See, he wasn’t. He was little league all along,'” said Rhodes.

Rhodes was part of “Go Big Show” and “Rhodes to the Top” while in AEW.

Cody Rhodes is set to compete in the men’s Royal Rumble on Saturday. Fans can find the current list of competitors for the match here.

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