Jeff Jarrett Explains Why He Doesn't Like AEW Stipulation Cody Rhodes Put On Himself

When Cody Rhodes was EVP of AEW, the former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion decided to go against tradition, where owners or management of a wrestling company often hold the world championship of a fledgling promotion to help establish credibility, and ended up booking himself to be shut out of world title contention. "When Jerry 'The King' Lawler was the king of Memphis, he was part owner of the town ... Fritz [Von Erich] owner of the territory, Robert Fuller, Bob Armstrong, owners of the territories," Jarrett said on "My World," as he explained why he was often world champion in the early days of TNA, also listing the AWA's Verne Gagne, as well as NJPW's Antonio Inoki. 

"In the history of the business, it's always had owner/promoter/talent in the mix," Jarrett explained. "So I never liked that [stipulation] that Cody put on himself. I think it was super counterproductive and it brought a light to a situation that I didn't think he needed to bring a light to." Jarrett thinks it's unfair to consumers to not give them the opportunity to decide if Cody should be the world champion or not.

"I get it, avoid the criticism and all that," the WWE Hall of Famer admitted. "I just think it was for the wrong reason." Rhodes is no longer in management, as the second-generation star is now in WWE, where he's flipped the script and is very adamantly trying to win the world title, hoping to "finish the story" that his father Dusty Rhodes couldn't during his time working there.