AEW President may have regretted losing Cody Rhodes, admits key backstage figure
It's been almost a full calendar year since Cody Rhodes shocked the wrestling world when he announced he was leaving AEW, with one of The American Nightmare's closest friends admitting that the company probably hated losing him.
The friend in question is current AEW personality Arn Anderson, who was by Cody's side throughout most of his run in All Elite Wrestling. Since Cody's departure, Arn has been helping his son Brock rise through the ranks, along with fellow second-generation star Brian Pillman Jr..
Cody Rhodes was an integral part of the formation of All Elite Wrestling, with his relationship with The Elite leading to a highly successful All-In event in September 2018 that was seen as a sign of things to come.
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Speaking with Steve Fall on The Ten Count, Arn Anderson spoke openly about Cody Rhodes' decision to leave AEW, with his family being a driving factor behind his reasoning.
“When the decision was being made to leave [AEW], there were going to be a lot of backlash and a lot of different opinions, but here’s the way that thing was based: when you, in this business, wrestlers are always changing companies all the time, it’s the history. When you make that decision based on the birth of your child and the things you want out of your marriage and being a new father, how can it be the wrong decision?” [9:40-10:16]
Anderson further elaborated by saying that AEW president Tony Khan must have hated losing Cody Rhodes to WWE but fully supported his decision at the time.
“Tony Khan is a great human being, he cares about the talent in as much as I’m sure he hated losing Cody [Rhodes], but if that was his decision, he was going to support it. There’s no ill feelings, we’re all friends, all the talent are friends—not all, but a lot of us are friends, the fact that we work for rival companies that’s just the way it is, everybody can’t work for the same company. I think a lot of Cody, I think he’s going to do wonders for their company, I’m so happy for the success that he’s enjoying, he’s going to make them glad they got him, and I’m sure there’s a lot of days we’re going to wish we still had. But he’s an A-class talent for sure.” [10:18-11:02]
Cody Rhodes was the reason Arn Anderson joined AEW
As previously stated, Arn Anderson was constantly by Cody's side in AEW as his personal advisor and coach. The role was given to him following his shocking debut at AEW's All Out pay-per-view in 2019.
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Anderson also told Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on AEW Unrestricted that it was Cody Rhodes who reached out to him with an offer to join All Elite Wrestling following his release from WWE.
"The Enforcer" admitted that he would have most likely still been retired had he not answered Rhodes' call in 2019, but is happy that he did as the atmosphere in AEW brought him back to the territory days that he grew up in.
Did you enjoy Arn Anderson's run in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!
Please credit "The Ten Count" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.