Cody Rhodes Hated The Young Bucks’ Narrative on His AEW Arrival

After his worldwide indie run, The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes joined forces with The Bucks and Kenny Omega to host the highly successful All In show in 2018. This event eventually led to the creation of All Elite Wrestling, backed financially by Tony Khan. With that said, Cody Rhodes admitted he hated The Young Bucks’ narrative about his arrival in AEW.

While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Rhodes discussed his role in the creation of AEW and how fans perceived him. Rhodes acknowledged that some fans might have a different narrative about his time in the promotion, but he still looks back on it fondly.

Rhodes drew a parallel to the ending of ‘The Dark Knight,’ emphasizing that some fans needed a story where he was the villain. Despite this, Rhodes accepted this role out of respect for the promotion and its journey. He reflected on the difficulty of organizing the original All In and the incredible experience of hosting Double or Nothing. He appreciated Tony Khan’s investment in their vision and pointed out the significance of Matt and Nick’s contributions during the BTE era, as well as his rivalry with Kenny Omega in New Japan, which brought substantial financial success to both New Japan and Ring of Honor.

“[Have] You ever seen the end of The Dark Knight? Again, it’s super convoluted and I’m not comparing myself to Batman. But there’s a piece of it that’s really important. To certain fans from the AEW fandom, they need the story to be they didn’t want me, they pushed me [out], he was bad… They need that story, they need me to be the villain. I was always fine with accepting that because of the respect I have for it in the first place.

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How difficult it was to do the original All In, how unbelievable the feeling was to do Double or Nothing. How fortunate we were that Tony wanted to invest in this vision and he had a vision as well. How special Matt and Nick in the BTE era and Kenny and my rivalry in New Japan, especially from a dollars and cents point. That made New Japan more money than anything they ever did and it made Ring of Honor go through the roof at the time.

So regardless of any petty squabbles, I will always have a love for it. I got to wrestle Brodie Lee’s final match. I got to lead people, young people, behind the scenes. I’ll always have a love for it.

I’m sure there’s some negative stuff, but I just remember it lovingly and I also knew I was leaving. I knew it was a season, I knew this isn’t gonna last and there’s something greater for me out there. I know that might sound negative to people, but it’s not. That’s the biggest prize in the wrestling game, if you put on boots, that’s the one. I just wanted to go get it and I had nothing but respect for my time there.

I got to sharpen my skills, like Hulkamania in the AWA, right before it came to WWE. It’s the same, the energy was there, the Renaissance was happening, it wasn’t just company based. It was all there and I just have a love for it because I got to sharpen my skills.

By the time I got to WrestleMania and WWE I felt like okay, I’ve come back a complete package. I’m in command of this is how the music goes. I’m in command of who The American Nightmare is and I can know that and understand it better than a writer or producer and thankfully we have all those things but yeah, nothing but love. I’m trying to get something bad to say.”

Rhodes then mentioned he did have something negative to say. He pointed out that The Young Bucks’ account of AEW’s creation in their book, while technically accurate, could be misinterpreted to portray him negatively.

Rhodes admitted he hated the fact that The Young Bucks mentioned he was the last to sign, a detail that some AEW defenders use to diminish his role in the promotion’s origin. Rhodes clarified that he was actually the first to meet Tony Khan during a vetting process for all of them.

While acknowledging that he was physically the last to sign, he emphasized that he was as involved in the creation of AEW as anyone else. Rhodes noted that this detail, though small, is something he plans to address in his own book to provide his perspective on the story.

“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 wasn’t that big a deal to the origin.’ No, this guy here who’s off camera was the first person to ever meet Tony and he met him in a vetting process for all of us.

So yes, I guess I was the last and yes, I had different thoughts and it’s not incorrect at all what they said [that I was physcially the last person to sign]. Yeah, it’s not incorrect but I was just in on it as well as anybody else. That’s a little thing that when I write my book I get to tell [the story].”

Cody Rhodes also made it clear that he will never cheer against AEW no matter what. Cody Rhodes also revealed if he ever considered returning to AEW. Nonetheless, Rhodes and The Elite will always have a great relationship and that is unlikely to ever change.

Do you empathize with Cody Rhodes’ frustration over how The Young Bucks stated he was the last to sign with AEW? Sound off in the comments section below!