Cody Rhodes, spent over ten years with WWE but departed from the company in 2016 due to creative decisions. Rhodes experienced a significant career resurgence when he joined AEW in 2019, not only as a superstar but also as one of the founding members alongside Tony Khan.
The American Nightmare’s final promo in AEW, delivered on January 19, 2022, after announcing his departure from the company, remains one of the most memorable promos of all time.
Cody Rhodes recalls last AEW promo
Recently on twitter, Rhodes reacted to his last promo in AEW, that was uploaded by a Wrestling fan. Rhodes added, “I’ll always feel privileged that I got to say goodbye with these words and the match that followed. Very fun/wild crowd and a fond memory.”
On his last promo Rhodes said, “I remember thinking, ‘I think I’m leaving.’ That promo, I remember I mentioned it to Punk as well, ‘Hey, I think I’m going to say this,’ I’m not a fan of blindsiding anybody. Where we’re terrible at is social media. ‘My opponent just nuked me,’ then you nuke him back. Alright, no trust and we’re at the peak level of fervor. I look at it now and I call it the ‘exit interview.”
With mentioning CM Punk, Rhodes also added a few words for Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley, who were with him for more than 10 years in the WWE. A week After this promo, on January 26, 2022, Rhodes had his final match in AEW, against Sammy Guevara, who defeated Rhodes to win the TNT Championship.
Is Cody Rhodes going to headline WrestleMania 40?
Cody Rhodes’ long time dream of headlining the grandest stage of all, WrestleMania, came true last year, when he faced Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Championship at the main event. He earned the opportunity by winning the 30 men Royal Rumble match in 2023.
However, he suffered a heartbreaking loss at WrestleMania 39, where he failed to dethrone Reigns in a classic match. Rhodes had an incredible year in 2023, wrestling more matches than anyone else in WWE, and made history by defeating Brock Lesnar twice, a feat achieved by few superstars in WWE.
Even after a year, Rhodes is still the fan favorite to face Reigns at WrestleMania 40. However, the odds were changed after The Rock’s return to WWE. Recently, Rock issued a challenge to the Tribal Chief, for the WWE Undisputed Championship. There are also rumors suggesting that Rock vs Reigns will possibly happen at the Elimination Chamber.
Rhodes has proven himself as a main event star in various promotions and also won several championships such as the WWE Intercontinental Championship, the AEW TNT Championship, and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
With all these speculations Rhodes is still the potential star to main event WrestleMania 40 and he is confident to bring back the WWE Undisputed Championship to his hometown Atlanta.
