"He inadvertently caused this industry-changing moment" - Cody Rhodes on incident with AEW star that led to his exit
Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE is one of the biggest stories of the year. However, Dan Lambert might have made the decision for him during a particular interaction with the American Nightmare.
The three-time TNT Champion was one of the founding fathers of AEW. But once his contract expired, he could not come to terms on a new contract with Tony Khan and made his way to WWE. He debuted at WrestleMania 38 as a superstar and defeated Seth Rollins.
On the Out Of Character podcast, Cody Rhodes revealed that Dan Lambert handed him the WWWF belt that was held by Dusty Rhodes and that perhaps made the decision for him to return to WWE.
"It was a heavy decision. Yeah, yes to a degree, it was an easy decision. You could almost say, Dan Lambert handed me the WWWF Championship. He handed me the title that my dad is holding in that picture from 1977, he handed it. And in that moment I felt like that the decision was almost made for me and I don't know if he inadvertently caused this industry changing moment. But there were times when it was just very, this is what has to happen. This is what has to happen and what needs to happen." (11:16 - 12:13)
Cody Rhodes said his AEW exit was amicable
Cody Rhodes described his AEW exit as being done with love and respect. He expressed his pleasure at the fact that fans understood his reasons behind jumping ship and that he doesn't know how long the honeymoon period will last for.
"I think we did it with respect and love and I, it feels like the the fans, casual fans, wrestling fans, sports entertainment fans, feels like your fans get it and that's really touching. That's, I don't know how long the honeymoon phase will last, but we're on the beach right now and really, really, truly enjoying it well, you know?"
The former Nightmare Family member defeated the Miz on WWE RAW to mark a successful return to the Monday night show. He will take on Seth Rollins in a WrestleMania rematch at WrestleMania Backlash in a highly anticipated clash.
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