Cody Rhodes Says Leaving AEW Was The Easiest Decision He Ever Made

In an interview with GQ, Cody Rhodes spoke about his decision to leave AEW last year, which he said was the easiest decision he’s ever made. Rhodes has not gone into why he left the company, except to say that it was a personal issue. He has said in the past, however, that he’s still on good terms with the Elite. Here are highlights:

On where he’s at on finishing the story: “I would say we are at the most challenging part, by far. The torn pec last year at Hell in a Cell was an incredible challenge for me as an athlete and entertainer, but Brock Lesnar—three matches with Brock Lesnar—is challenging. The other part of the challenge is growing a connection with the audience. It’s amazing and I’m so grateful to have it, but I think part of you is always scared. What if it goes? What if you lose it? Because you had this and they rode with you to WrestleMania. Can you get back there? Those two words are really the whole thing: ‘get back.'”

On if the torn pec injury changed how he wrestles or trains: “So, it didn’t change the way that I wrestled, but it definitely changed everything about how I train. A positive byproduct of it all was getting a dietitian, the best one I could possibly get on board, a great trainer to have on board to be consistent and zooming with you when you’re in your own gym, writing up your workouts, always walking into the gym with an actual game plan. And I got educated on stuff that I’d always been too cool for, when it comes to hydration and supplements and how you take care of your body when you’re a mid-30s athlete who’s been doing this at a high level since you were 20 years old.”

On if he misses the independents: “I miss… I miss the amount of time that I was able to take after each show. Typically I’d stand in the ring and sometimes the entire show would come do ringside photos with us. I really miss that, because I had not experienced that prior to going into the indies. For me coming up in WWE, it was always you’re in the big arena, it’s a big show, the lights are down and the spotlight is on the ring. It’s like you can’t see the crowd. Whereas the independents, for better or for worse, you can see them. That was so much fun. The first thing you learn in wrestling is something that it took me a while to rediscover again: it’s very fun. It’s very, very, very fun. We talk about challenges and pressures and responsibilities, but you forget about how silly and fun this all is. And on the independent scene, we were having almost too much fun. I would have it no other way for sure.”

On if he thinks AEW and WWE will ever work together: “I don’t see it. Only because I’m the old competitive type, you know? That’s your competition and you want to run the score up. But I’ve noticed with The Nightmare Factory [Rhodes’ wrestling school], we have a lot of young kids, like 19 year olds, and they’re just so friendly and peaceful and, like, kumbaya is the word. They’re different. And I don’t think they’re wrong. Things evolve. So in 10 years, you might see a different landscape where there is a little bit of crossover, maybe, but I don’t personally see it right now by any means. And I was happy that we were able to talk about that specific time in my career in the documentary, because it’s hard for fans to understand. My time with AEW might have ended murky, but it didn’t end on a bad note. It was a wonderful season of my life.”

On leaving AEW: “No, it was the easiest thing I ever did. And it’s because I had a personal issue that I wasn’t going through, over, or around. I was just going to steer clear of it. If anything, I wanted to look at what we had done at AEW and say, “Amazing, what a wonderful time, a beautiful memory, and very special in every way. And now it’s time to move on.” You know, all good things. And it certainly was like that with me. So I mean it not in a negative way, like I was happy to burn rubber and speed out, but it just wasn’t a decision that was difficult for me at all. Or for Brandi [Rhodes, his wife and former AEW executive].”