‘Shocking’ WWE Backstage Reaction To Cody Rhodes AEW Departure

The backstage reaction in WWE to Cody Rhodes leaving All Elite Wrestling for a potential return has been revealed.

As first reported by Fightful Select, AEW announced on Tuesday that Cody and Brandi Rhodes were departing the company with a potential WWE return on the table.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer’s “We’re Live, Pal”, Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast discussed what he heard from those backstage in WWE about Cody’s AEW departure.

Zarian stated:

“There’s no contract signed, I know that. There’s nothing signed as of 3pm ET on Tuesday. But it looks like he may be heading over there, because the WWE guys were… they were waving their WWE flag in victory with this. I was very shocked at the reaction this was getting from that side. Normally, I’d never seen – I’ve been covering wrestling 11 years, been doing it on the Observer for a year now – I have never seen a celebration of sorts with someone that hasn’t signed yet.

“So they see this as a win. I was told multiple times that optics-wise, this looks bad for AEW and this looks great for WWE. Especially with the fact that not only was he an on-air top talent, he’s an EVP, he’s one of the founders, conceptualised the whole idea. So, this is a mega story. This is huge.”

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AEW losing Rhodes is definitely a blow to the promotion. Cody was considered one of the faces of All Elite Wrestling, so his departure to potentially return to WWE may be a game changer for both sides.

As previously noted, Andrew Zarian and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful both confirmed that Cody and WWE have been in contact about a return.

We will have further updates on Cody Rhodes when they become available.

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• departure
• Cody Rhodes
• AEW
• wwe

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