The birth of AEW has quite a compelling story behind it and even greater relevance. If Khan hadn’t decided to get the ball rolling about his world-class vision of running a wrestling promotion just after the All-In event in 2018, WWE wouldn’t have been forced to bring out their best narratives on the platter, making the wrestling world taste a different reality altogether. Also in the foundation process, Khan had to take the assistance of a WWE cornerstone, Cody Rhodes.

The AEW head honcho brought his brainchild into existence alongside the Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega) and the former AEW vice president Cody Rhodes. However, recently, disputes cropped up with the American Nightmare who debunked the theory of being the last person to meet Khan during the vetting process, leading to the AEW Boss clarifying his stance. And for the good part, the WWE star re-validated it with a tweet, clearing all the air.

Cody Rhodes defended himself in the face of Tony Khan’s exposal of the AEW formation narrative

A few days back, Cody Rhodes remarked that he didn’t like the fact that The Young Bucks said he was the last of The Elite to sign with AEW. He revealed that he was the first to meet Tony Khan. The Young Bucks’ words gave off the impression that he didn’t play a pivotal part in laying the groundwork for the promotion. However, the information turned out to be partly true.

Khan explained the entire story of how and when he came across the four bona fide figures of the company. In an interview with Comicbook, Khan revealed that the actual story is not the one Rhodes wants to tell as part of revisionist history. The first people who talked with Tony Khan from The Elite were Matthew Jackson and his wife, Dana. Later, he came across Rhodes’ agent Brian Wittenstein who then introduced him to the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion. Before the bombshell revelation backfired in Rhodes’ honesty, the 39-year-old safeguarded himself with a supporting statement.

He wrote, ‘I said he met Tony first. Exactly what he said. In the vetting/feeling out process. Stories are the same, nobody is mad at anybody.’

However, whether Rhodes’s justification makes any sense, Rhodes always knew that his AEW tenure wouldn’t last long.

Rhodes has mixed feelings for AEW in his heart

Cody Rhodes and AEW have always been a talking point in the wrestling universe and there has been a lot of talking regarding how he parted ways to fulfill his world title dream in the Stamford-based promotion. It seems that the American Nightmare has a handful of things to be grateful forever for his brief AEW tenure. However, he always knew that he would leave someday.

Rhodes had to be in the shoes of some loathed villain characters during the embryonic stage of the promotion. In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, The American Nightmare noted despite not rounding off his AEW tenure on good terms, he has immense respect for what he got to do. But simultaneously from day 1, he felt that he was there for a session and would eventually leave. While Rhodes’ comments aimed at clarity, it also depicted at the rumored creative frustration that he had with Khan and his ways.

However, it will be interesting to see how Cody Rhodes’ re-clarification of the AEW formation story sits with people. What’s your thought on this? Let us know in the comments.