Why Cody Rhodes Calls Leaving AEW 'The Easiest Thing I Ever Did'

Though he's now at the top of the card in WWE, preparing to face Brock Lesnar for the third time tomorrow at WWE SummerSlam, it wasn't too long ago that Cody Rhodes was an Executive Vice President at All Elite Wrestling. Speaking to GQ about his 2022 AEW departure, Rhodes once again brought up an insurmountable issue that led to him returning to WWE.

"[Leaving AEW] was the easiest thing I ever did," Rhodes said. "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.'"

Rhodes then made it clear that he harbors no ill will toward his former company or anyone in it. However, both Rhodes and his wife Brandi knew that it was time to move on. When asked if he could ever see his current and former employer working together in any major capacity, Rhodes was skeptical.

"I don't see it," Rhodes stated. "Only because I'm the old competitive type, you know? That's your competition and you want to run the score up." Still, the Nightmare Factory trainer shared that he sees more of a cooperative spirit in the next generation of performers, so there's no telling what could happen in the more distant future.

"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," Rhodes continued. "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."