Cody Rhodes made a surprise WWE return after almost 6 years of absence when he returned the night following WrestleMania 38 in 2022. The American Nightmare had beaten Seth Rollins on his first night back and immediately became a greater star. Since then, Rhodes has cemented himself as a top star. He now holds two reigns as the Undisputed WWE Champion and has appeared in three WrestleMania main events.
Rhodes Career Gamble
But Rhodes says his homecoming was a massive career risk. Departing AEW, the company Davies helped build, to return to WWE was not a choice he made lightly. The man himself, Cody Rhodes, recently opened up about how he felt during that period while speaking on The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast. “The situation, looking back at it now, so many things were happening. I had two television shows that were on Discovery Now, but Warner Media programming. I had to juggle that, I had to really weigh it out. Obviously, opportunity is amazing, but I had to really weigh it out. Is this a mistake, right? They didn’t see it the first time. They saw a little of it, but they didn’t see it. Is this the biggest mistake ever? You think the first time leaving is the biggest mistake ever. Coming back, my fear was like, this could be the biggest gamble of all. I had a good gig. I had, contrary to what you hear, and you guys know how the internet likes to internet, but I had a good gig. I had an executive job. I loved the Bullet Club guys. But evolving and moving myself forward, it was just a lot to weigh out.”
Rhodes Overcoming Anxiety
Reflecting on that period, Rhodes admitted it caused anxiety, though he reassured himself that he is past it. “And again, it could have been a big — had I gone out there and belly flopped in the pool, like, it wouldn’t have hurt WWE at all. It would have been, ‘See, he wasn’t. He was Little League all along.’ You know? Now I’m getting anxiety over it, and it’s over. We already did it, you know? We’re good, we’re good.”
Rhodes Eyes WrestleMania Revenge
Rhodes recently lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre in a wild Three Stages of Hell match on SmackDown. Jacob Fatu would get involved, assaulting both men , which helped McIntyre escape and win the belt. Rhodes might have an opportunity to exact his revenge at WrestleMania 42, perhaps in a Triple Threat match against McIntyre and Fatu (or with McIntyre one-on-one).
