“Vince Would Fly to..”: Cody Rhodes Explains How a Mention of Vince McMahon Fueled His WWE Return

Cody Rhodes became the first major wrestler to jump ship from AEW to WWE last year. We saw him make a return to Vince McMahon’s company at WrestleMania 38 to face Seth Rollins. The speculation about The American Nightmare coming back became true, but who was responsible for this? The former AEW star shed a light on the same recently while talking about his WWE return.

Rhodes appeared on The MMA Hour recently, where he shared why he signed with WWE. Moreover, he recalled WWE called him first. He said, “The first person to make contact was Bruce Prichard….. Everybody thinks like, ‘Oh he got him from here and all’, but no I was free, I wasn’t under a deal anymore, I had done my bet for King and Country. The special thing about it was Bruce told me, ‘Would you like to meet with Vince?’ I thought I would like to meet you guys.”

He further added, “He (Prichard) told me, ‘Vince would fly to meet you wherever you are. That’s when it got real.”

He had only told his wife, Brandi Rhodes, about the call from WWE. The former TNT Champion wasn’t just a talent in AEW, he was also a member of the executives of the company. But at the time, he was free after the wrestler failed to agree to terms with the company. 

Subsequently, he recalled his sister saying to him, “be careful what you wish for.” He returned and had three great matches with Seth Rollins including the Hell in a Cell with a torn peck. 

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The meeting with Vince McMahon was closure for Cody Rhodes

Rhodes left WWE in 2016 because of creative issues the company had for him. He was portraying a similar character to his brother Goldust, which is Stardust. However, he told Helwani that this meeting with McMahon was for closure initially.

He said, “Because if anything it would be closure.”

Rhodes added how he was unprofessional during his first run in the company. Moreover, he shared that unprofessional behavior led to many beautiful moments, i.e. his run on the independent circuit, NJPW, and AEW. He just wanted to “wrap” this up to move forward in life. 

This meeting became more than a closure and with open arms, WWE welcomed its son back. One year later he won the Men’s Royal Rumble and is ready to main event WrestleMania 39.

What do you make of the story Rhodes shared on his departure from AEW and return to WWE? Let us know in the comments below.

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