Cody Rhodes opens up on potential "bad blood" between WWE and AEW during heated rivalry
Cody Rhodes, former executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling, recently discussed the potential for "bad blood" between AEW and their major competitor, WWE.
With the help of fellow wrestlers The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, Cody spearheaded the formation of All Elite Wrestling, a new wrestling promotion that promised to be a fresh alternative to WWE. AEW's first show, Double or Nothing, took place in May 2019, and the company has been gaining momentum ever since.
The formation of All Elite Wrestling was a direct challenge to WWE's dominance in the wrestling world, and the company responded by moving its NXT brand from the Network to the USA Network to compete with AEW's flagship show on Wednesday nights. The resulting Wednesday Night Wars were not as intense or competitive as the Monday Night Wars of the 1990s, but they still generated plenty of buzz and excitement among wrestling fans.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Cody Rhodes discussed his time at the forefront of Wednesday Night Wars and the contentious relationship between AEW and WWE.
Rhodes did not believe there was necessarily "bad blood" between the two companies:
"I don’t think there was necessarily bad blood, but that was a contentious thing on Wednesdays in a way for a while, and if anything I hope he [Triple H] would look at that and respect the hustle — What I was out there trying to do then, was for everybody," said Cody [ H/T- itrwrestling]
Cody Rhodes on his personal bond with The Elite behind the curtain in AEW
After leaving AEW and returning to WWE, Cody Rhodes addressed rumors of tension between himself and Executive Vice Presidents Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
Cody Rhodes appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and spoke about various topics, including his relationship with the AEW World Trios Champions, The Elite. Despite their strong bond, Rhodes admitted that their differing visions of pro wrestling put their relationship to the test.
"I had a great relationship with Matt, Nick, and Kenny still do. It definitely was tested by being young executives. It was tested by having different opinions on wrestling, but our different opinions is what made it strong [sic]. That’s what made us work. I want to do Crockett and old school and they want to do PWG and West Coast and damn, I loved it. That contention is what made us bond. We’re bonded forever because of the things we did," Cody Rhodes said. (H/T Fightful.com)
Cody Rhodes expressed that he wasn't aligned with CM Punk, The Elite, or Tony Khan regarding recent events and that he was simply saddened by how things had transpired.
Would you like to see Cody return to the Tony Khan-led promotion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.