Cody Rhodes Was Allegedly in Talks with WWE for 2018 Starrcade Match While Under ROH Contract

Cody Rhodes parted ways with WWE back in 2016 and chose to become a big star in other promotions such as ROH, NJPW and other promotions. While he was one of the founders of AEW, it appears Rhodes was allegedly in talks with WWE to compete at the Starrcade event in November 2018.

While speaking to That’s Wrestling, Marty Scurll revealed that Cody Rhodes was in talks with WWE to appear at the 2018 Starrcade event while he was still under contract with Ring of Honor and before the formation of AEW in 2019.

Scurll mentioned that Cody Rhodes was negotiating with WWE about doing a match at the 2018 event. Scurll also recalled that Dustin Rhodes was still working with WWE at the time, and talks were happening while Cody Rhodes was still under contract with Ring of Honor, which would have seen Cody and Dustin Rhodes team up.

Although it wasn’t clear if Ring of Honor had stopped him, Scurll assumed that Cody Rhodes had an interest in returning to WWE, given that it was where he started his career and it was the biggest company in the industry.

“You know what, actually, because I don’t think anyone knows this and maybe I shouldn’t be telling this, but again, my memory… this is way before AEW. This is like when we were running high with the Elite and WWE was gonna… they ran like a—I don’t even know what it was—like a house show or a Super Show. I don’t think it was a pay-per-view, but they were running Starrcade, right? I think it was maybe… I think it might have been in North Carolina or something like that, and they were doing like maybe a one-off event, Starrcade. I don’t even think it was a pay-per-view. I think it was like a house—like a live house show, yeah. Remember? Yeah.

And Cody was in talks with WWE at the time about then doing a match on that Starrcade, maybe teaming up with—again, I’m pretty sure Dustin was still working for WWE at the time. And I know there were talks. I know he was talking to WWE about doing a match, this is while he’s still contracted to Ring of Honor. So, I don’t know what happened there. I don’t know if Ring of Honor said ‘no,’ but I know there were talks then. So, in my head, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, he definitely wants to go back to WWE, you know? And wouldn’t he? That’s where he started, and it’s the biggest company.'”

Cody Rhodes parted ways with ROH back in December 2018 and he would eventually go on to start AEW alongside The Elite and Tony Khan. While Rhodes eventually went back to WWE in 2022, his time in ROH and AEW will always be remembered but it’s certainly interesting to think there was a chance he could have competed in the 2018 Starrcade event.

Do you think Cody Rhodes should have returned to WWE earlier, or did AEW offer him the opportunity to truly establish himself as a top star in the industry? Share your thoughts below!

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