Former World Champion Cody Rhodes Sheds New Light on Why He Left All Elite Wrestling

One of the biggest talents AEW saw when the company was starting out was Cody Rhodes. Showing how much he had grown as a performer over the years, Cody was ready to let the world know that he could hold his own during the main event of any wrestling card. The wrestler also served as one of All Elite Wrestling's founding figures in the ring. Alongside the Young Bucks and Adam Page, Cody was one of the first professional wrestlers to join AEW.

Unfortunately, the love affair between Cody and AEW wasn't meant to last. After a couple of years of entertaining audiences in Tony Khan's promotion, Cody made his way back to the WWE. The athlete has shared new information about why he left the company. What did Cody Rhodes share about his departure from All Elite Wrestling? Here's what we know about why the wrestler decided to move on from the empire he had helped build.

During a recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast (via Yahoo!), Cody Rhodes stated that he felt disrespected during his final months at AEW. Talking about earlier stages of his career, Cody said that feeling disrespected at WWE was different because he worked for a massive media conglomerate. The wrestler went on to say he was "feeling disrespected at something I built ... with my friends. That we built. Feeling disrespected there — I wouldn’t stand for it."

Cody Rhodes also shared that his wife, Brandi, was one of the people who encouraged him to leave AEW after he felt disrespected. Nevertheless, Cody says there's no bad blood between him and the people of AEW. "I don’t believe in the cold-hearted, backstabby type of revenge. The greatest revenge on Earth is success," he said.

The tense situation led Cody to leave AEW after working for the promotion for over three years. The wrestler never had the opportunity to hold the AEW World Championship, which is something that stars such as Jon Moxley and CM Punk managed to accomplish multiple times. If Cody wanted to stay relevant in the world of professional wrestling, he knew that he needed to look for success somewhere else.

Cody Rhodes made his way back to WWE at WrestleMania 38. Seth Rollins had been teasing for weeks that he would face a mystery opponent at the company's biggest event of the year. Fans from all over the world were surprised to learn that the hidden wrestler was actually Cody Rhodes, who had left the WWE six years before facing Seth.

Cody's return to WWE led to bigger things than he had ever imagined. The Superstar won two Royal Rumble matches in a row, giving him the chance to face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at both WrestleMania 39 and WrestleMania 40. The moment when Cody was able to defeat Roman for the title will always be a highlight in the history of the WWE.