DDP has opened up on Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for a return to WWE one year ago as the former All Elite Wrestling EVP approaches the biggest match thus far in his wrestling career.

Rhodes was one of the founding fathers of AEW when it launched in 2019 alongside Tony Khan, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. Despite success in the promotion, he felt he had unfinished business in WWE and parted ways with Khan.

DDP was close with Rhodes’ father, Dusty Rhodes, and has grown close with the son of the WWE Hall of Famer. While speaking with Inside The Ropes, DDP criticized Khan for letting Rhodes go to the rival company.
DDP’s Critical Take

“He (Cody Rhodes) would write the TVs. Like it’s challenging to write TVs and storylines and all of that. And Tony was right there, Tony Khan, but Tony didn’t know how to do that. He learned that from Cody. There is no way if I was Tony Khan, I’m losing Cody Rhodes. There is no way. I mean the other guys are important too, big time, they’re monster superstars but the guy who technically knows how to do the behind-the-scenes storytelling.

Just to point out a couple of them, when I watched Darby Allin go out there, for the very first time, no one knows anything about him except for on the independent scene. When I watch him go out there, and I never wanna know the finish - he knows that - I wanna watch. I wanna watch like a fan. I watched him go 20 minutes broadway. First of all, I don’t even remember when the last broadway was, it was so long ago. But Cody saw something in that kid that no one saw in a 5 foot 8, 155-pound kid, nobody saw it but he did. That’s why he got the job.

He also was the one who discovered MJF, who is the best heel in the business from top to bottom. Because he could work, because he knows how to be the heel, the chicken shit and he loves people booing him. He does not want anybody to cheer him, nobody.”

Cody Rhodes was part of the DNA of early AEW and a franchise player of the upstart promotion. His departure in early 2022 was the end of an era for AEW. DDP believes Cody was such a significant loss that he compared it to Eric Bischoff firing Steve Austin from WCW.

"... If I was Tony Khan, I never would have let him go. To me, it was like when Eric Bischoff let go of Stone Cold Steve Austin and I was like 'Noooo, not him, not him' and we all know what happened there.”

To get a sense of how big a star Cody is and the ramifications of him jumping to WWE, you don't have to look much farther than his current program.

This Sunday, Cody Rhodes will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 39.