"That has never been done in wrestling history" - Top star on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE
Cody Rhodes made history when he became the first major AEW star to jump into WWE back in 2022. Rhodes has received a lot of praise since then, and recently Matt Cardona pointed out that he's possibly the first pro wrestler to ever utilize his previous gimmick in WWE to the extent that he has.
Cody Rhodes was one of the biggest stars in AEW and was prominently featured in nearly all the marketing the promotion had. Due to this and his history establishing AEW, the wrestling world was shocked when he parted ways with the promotion and showed up in WWE at WrestleMania 38.
During his recent appearance on Casual Conversations With The Classic, Matt Cardona pointed out that Cody Rhodes was the first to fully bring his persona from one massive promotion into another.
"What he has done recently is unprecedented," Cardona said. "First of all, being the first guy to jump from AEW to WWE, there could only be one first, right? There can only be one. And the fact that he brought his entire look, music, logo... That has never been done in wrestling history. I give them all the props in the world for having the vision to do that." (H/T WrestlingInc)
One of the best debuts I’ve ever seen in WWE.
@CodyRhodes has just changed the game forever. WWE killed it with his entrance, couldn’t have anyone better than Seth to open with and his homage to Dusty was perfect.
Incredible #WrestleMania moment.
https://t.co/9eWR7lTT0C
The American Nightmare has clearly not forgotten his AEW roots, as it's been reported that his planned WrestleMania 39 gear will include a reference to the promotion as well as to ROH.
Missed out on last week's AEW Dynamite or Rampage? Catch up with the results right here.
Former AEW star Big Swole alleges she had a feeling that Cody Rhodes would leave the promotion
Big Swole was the first major departure from AEW, largely due to the controversy that followed and not her star power in the promotion. While she has wrestled again since leaving, the 33-year-old star continues to detail revelations about her time in AEW.
Throwback of Kenny offering Big Swole an AEW contract back in Dec. 2019 https://t.co/lfRcJkkmKY
During her recent interview on The Ten Count, Swole explained how she thought Cody Rhodes seemed uneasy in his last few months in AEW.
"I had my own personal assumptions because I'm a people watcher and I look for signs and 'Nah, something's a little murky up over here' but nothing really official. But when he left, I was like 'Told you!' It just kinda felt like he was a little uneasy," Big Swole said. (H/T WrestlingInc.)
While it's unclear how long Cody Rhodes had his WWE return in mind, it seems to have paid off for him as he could very well be the first man to beat Roman Reigns in over three years.