"The conspiracy theories can continue" - Brandi Rhodes provides new info on her and Cody Rhodes' departure from AEW
Former AEW Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes officially departed the Jacksonville-based promotion in February 2022. Since then, speculation has swirled around their relationship with Tony Khan and The Elite, and various theories have emerged regarding their decision to leave.
Cody Rhodes has addressed some of this speculation on social media and recently cleared the air in the Peacock documentary American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, stating that his decision had nothing to do with money or his fellow talent.
Brandi Rhodes has also spoken up on the matter, clarifying why she and her husband departed the company they helped found. Speaking on Ring the Belle, Brandi shot down the rumor that she was upset over her poorly-received segments with American Top Team founder Dan Lambert on AEW Dynamite:
"I'm gonna say – someone asked me this earlier about what, you know, 'What can you say about when you left?' Well, Cody got to say in the documentary what’s not true. I didn't get to say that, so I would like to say that. Since I can’t say some other things, I would like to say what's not true. So it's not true that we left because the Dan Lambert segments upset me. That's not true. Everything that Dan said I was there for, I enjoyed it, and some of it almost made me laugh a couple times, because I was like, 'Geez! Geez, this man.'" [From 17:31 to 18:01]
Brandi Rhodes further addressed the speculation that AEW offered her husband a new contract while declining to renew hers:
"The other thing that’s not true is it’s not true that I was not going to get another contract. We were both well on our way to trying to decide what our contracts were. So it was not true that they decided not to renew my contract and only wanted to renew Cody;s, and that’s why Cody left. Not true. So those are two things you can cross off the list, and the conspiracy theories can continue, but those can go away." [From 18:02 - 18:25]
Check out Brandi's full interview below:
Brandi Rhodes on the hardest part of leaving her CBO position
Brandi Rhodes held several roles in All Elite Wrestling – both in front of and behind the camera. While her husband signed with WWE shortly after leaving the Jacksonville-based promotion, Brandi has stepped back to focus on entrepreneurial ventures and raising their young daughter.
In the same interview, the 40-year-old opened up on leaving her position as Chief Branding Officer:
"I would say that that’s [stepping away from CBO position] the hardest thing. So, I've always said I did not plan to continue to wrestle beyond 40, and I'm now 40. So, you know, in wrapping up the wrestling a year early, not so hard, because I already had that in mind. But Chief Brand Officer thing was something that I thought I could do for a really long time, so that was the part that was kind of like, 'Man, this stings,' because that work was so great to be able to do." [From 18:40 to 19:06]
Did you enjoy Brandi Rhodes' presence in All Elite Wrestling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
When using quotes from this article, please credit Ring the Belle and give a h/t to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.