Cody Rhodes shocked the world when he decided to leave AEW in 2022 and sign with WWE. The American Nightmare was one of the company's founders and an EVP, so his decision to reunite with then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was a game-changing moment in the wrestling "war."
Since arriving in WWE at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, Rhodes has, and continues to be, treated like one of the company's top Superstars. He even finished his story, finally becoming WWE Champion on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Earlier this month, Rhodes became Undisputed WWE Champion for the second time when he defeated John Cena at SummerSlam.
On the latest edition of What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes, the American Nightmare interviewed Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch and briefly touched on his AEW departure.
Admitting that he'd like to write a book about his past experiences, Rhodes strongly indicated that there's a reason why he can't tell the story behind his shock exit from the promotion.
"I would love to. I would love to write a book, but an entire huge chapter is locked behind a wall," Rhodes said. "Everything I say these days when it comes to that is somehow, I’m rewriting history, I’m remembering it wrong, even though the receipts are literally on social media."
"Stop, but every time I say anything, it’s the wrong thing to say. It hurts. It hurts my heart because I’d love to tell the story, I just have to wait for somebody else to tell the story, and hopefully they include me in it. It’s an odd situation, but I would love to write a book," he cryptically added.
It seems likely that Rhodes signed an NDA when he left AEW. Until someone else breaks it, he will not be able to tell the full story behind his decision to walk away from the company he helped create and put on the map.
"There’s clearly bad blood, but there’s also clearly respect and love," Rhodes said earlier this year. "In the end, the way I see it is, if I felt disrespected ever at WWE, that’s one thing. That’s a company that was built…that’s the Yankees. That’s the flagship of it all."
"If I ever felt [at WWE] that I was a number on a sheet, maybe, but feeling disrespected at something I built with my friends. That we built," he continued. "Feeling disrespected there, I wouldn’t stand for it." Something tells us he's talking about AEW President Tony Khan.
You can hear more from Rhodes and Lynch in the player below.