“Hated That”: Cody Rhodes Reveals Young Bucks Turned Fans Against Him, States Truth Behind Tony Khan Meeting

Before rejoining the WWE roster, Cody Rhodes spent a considerable amount of time in AEW. He worked closely with Tony Khan as one of the EVPs in AEW at the time. Now that he has left the promotion, there have been many former co-stars who claimed that the wrestler did not have that big of a role in the origin of the company when he was there. This claim upset Rhodes and in a July 16 interview with Chris Van Vliet, he revealed the reality of the situation. What did he say?

The now-WWE star called out The Young Bucks for what they wrote in their book ‘Killing the Business’. He shed light on the part where the tag team wrote about how Cody Rhodes was the last to sign with Tony Khan.

Speaking on ‘Insight with Chris Van Vliet’, Rhodes mentioned, “I hated that in the Young Bucks book, they said I was last to the signing. Because that’s a big thing. Some of the AEW defenders who don’t realize they’re turning people off to their product more than they’re turning people on. That’s one of the things that people always cite, ‘Oh, he was last. He didn’t even want… He wasn’t that big a deal of the origin.’ No. This guy here who’s off camera was the first person to ever meet Tony. He met him in a vetting process for all of us. ”

Rhodes arguably played the most crucial part as a representative of his team. This opened the doors for the wealthy entrepreneur to engage in meaningful conversations with The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, etc. This would emerge as the prelude to the juggernaut that AEW is now.

“Yes, I guess I was the last, and yes, I had different thoughts. And it’s not incorrect [Rhodes signing last]. But I was just in on it as well as anyone else. And that’s a little thing that I when I write my book, I get to tell…”

Nevertheless, the book, according to Rhodes, still conveys the wrong idea, as it doesn’t shed light on his role in the inception of the company. Moreover, this is not the first time The American Nightmare had to battle such allegations.

Cody Rhodes engages in a familiar battle over his role in AEW’s setup…

Cody Rhodes has sporadically talked about his involvement with AEW. Specifically, the former AEW star has talked about the lengths he had gone to establish the Florida-based promotion as a legitimate rival to WWE. Despite leaving the roster behind, the wrestling talent seems to take immense pride in having been able to make it all happen. So, naturally, he doesn’t appreciate it when someone else steals away his credit.

In an interview with ‘Cheap Heat’ in April 2024, Cody Rhodes talked about how some of the former co-stars whom he didn’t name have tried to downplay his role in setting up AEW. “Me, Matt, and Nick are as close as ever. So glad I had them in my career and my life. If we are being honest, AEW does not happen without me. It doesn’t. With that in mind, I could never root against them.”

This means that not only does he respect the work that he put in the foundation of the wrestling promotion, but also respects everyone else who has had or currently works there. However, this issue might not end anytime soon.

UPDATE: In a new interview with Comicbook on July 17, Tony Khan rejected Rhodes’ statements. “I first had the idea, I believe on April 6th, 2018. I was at a party in Beverly Hills. I was with my friend Kevin Reilly, who was at the time the President of TBS and TNT…”

Tony Khan shared that he first spoke to Matt Jackson and then Nick Jackson, before eventually contacting The American Nightmare. His revelation contradicts that of Rhodes.