Bruce Prichard reveals why Cody Rhodes called him after his AEW contract ended
Cody Rhodes' time in AEW was filled with plenty of highs and its fair share of lows. When this run eventually ended last year, The American Nightmare wasted little time pursuing his next goal.
WWE Executive Bruce Prichard recently detailed his early talks with Rhodes when the star's contract with Tony Khan's company came to an end.
In the new documentary American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, Prichard details how he made efforts to reach out to the former AEW EVP after hearing that his contract was up. The long-time WWE Executive also revealed that Rhodes called him in just five minutes after enquiring about his contract status.
"There were rumblings about Cody’s contract being up, and [I] reached out through some mutual friends and just asked if that was true and if it was true for Cody to give me a call, and Cody called me within like five minutes. And I believe Vince [McMahon] and I were on a plane the very next day to meet with Cody in person in Atlanta, Georgia," revealed Prichard.
Check out a clip from the documentary here.
Evidently, neither party was keen to waste time when it came to making this deal happen. Many would say Rhodes' decision to join WWE has been justified, as though he is now one of the hottest acts in professional wrestling.
Cody Rhodes reflects on his final promo in AEW
Shortly before leaving AEW, Cody Rhodes delivered one of his most famous promos to date. He discussed several topics, including CM Punk's infamous "pipebomb," his forthcoming match with Sammy Guevara, and the 'Wednesday Night War' against NXT.
He recently spoke with Sam Roberts about his "exit interview":
"Maybe, selfishly, egotistically, I wanted to remind them, 'I appreciate the company has changed, I do. Please know though, there is no company had these things not have happened.' Other things had to happen; [Chris] Jericho had to do his stuff, [Young] Bucks had to do their stuff, Kenny [Omega] had to do stuff, [Jon] Moxley had to do stuff, he's a big part of it too, I don't give him credit enough. I just wanted to let them know." [H/T: Fightful]
Rhodes' final AEW match took place on January 26, 2022, in a ladder match against Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship. The American Night returned to WWE just a few months later at WrestleMania 38.
If you use the quote from the first half of this article, please credit American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.