Cody Rhodes breaks his silence on Brawl Out.
The wrestling world is still talking about the reported fight between The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) and CM Punk that occurred back at the AEW All Out pay-per-view on September 4, 2022. Although The Elite returned to AEW television weeks after the incident, CM Punk has yet to return to the company in any capacity. On numerous occasions, AEW owner Tony Khan has declined to comment on Punk's status in the company.
Cody Rhodes, who is currently gearing up for a championship showdown with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, is considered to be one of the founding fathers of All Elite Wrestling. After being with the company for three years, Rhodes left AEW in January 2022 and returned to WWE a few short months later.
While appearing on Monday's episode of The MMA Hour, Rhodes commented on the Brawl Out incident for the first time, as he first revealed how he found out about the fiasco.
"I woke up the next morning and I had no joke, I think 63 messages. So I was very worried that something was said about me or Brandi. I did everything I could. I gave a lot. I have great memories with AEW, I do. So I hope it's respected mutually, right? So I was worried. I was like, 'I hope somebody to take a weird shot, something like that.' That wasn't the case. It was about this press conference and all that."
Rhodes went on to talk about his relationships with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, noting that it was indeed tested by their differing opinions on the sport of pro wrestling. Rhodes also talked about his relationship with CM Punk, noting that they had a great relationship despite not talking much.
"I had a great relationship with Matt, Nick, and Kenny still do. It definitely was tested by being young executives. It was tested by having different opinions on wrestling, but our different opinions is what made it strong. That's what made us work. I want to do Crockett and old school and they want to do PWG and West Coast and damn, I loved it. That contention is what made us bond. We're bonded forever because of the things we did. I also had a great relationship with Punk. He was my dinner buddy. They'd order dinner for me at AEW every week, it was one of my management perks or whatever. I don't think he knew, I always just put it on my tab because I wanted to make sure he was getting something. So we didn't talk a lot, but I got a great relationship with him. I was so excited to have him back, and like even if you remember when he came back, everyone was fired up about that, everybody. So when I watched it just from me sitting there, I was not — there was some people texting me. I remember somebody texted me, 'Man, you're the smartest guy in the room. I wanted to write back like, 'F— you, man.' I don't feel that way. I feel this thing we built got damaged. I'm not putting any blame on anybody. Sorry, super Switzerland."
Rhodes also went on to note that he doesn't place blame on anybody for the Brawl Out incident, although he does believe that the fight took away the spirit of All In from AEW.
"I'm not putting any blame on anybody. I just hated seeing that. Because as the company grows, and I hope it continues to grow. I hope people remember the mission in the first place and why we were there. If you bring in people who don't know the mission, then things like that can happen. I'm not saying he didn't know the mission or anything of that nature, but I was just bummed out. That's how I felt, I was bummed out. because I have — you win the title, it's a feather in your cap. You win the Royal Rumble, it's a feather in your cap. Building an alternative wrestling promotion is definitely a feather in the cap. I don't want that to be erased. I don't want that to go away. Plus, there's not as many jobs in wrestling as people think. There's about 1000 people who work there structurally, infrastructure and talent. I'm proud of them. I want to make sure they're able to feed their families and that was a situation that was so big and heavy. I don't think it was helpful. I don't know, maybe you could make it helpful. Maybe you can do something with it. That's how I felt. No heat on Punk. No heat on Matt, Nick, Kenny, or Tony, I was just bummed out when I saw it. That's not how we envisioned it. The spirit of 'All In,' if you ever lose the spirit, you're lost. I think the spirit was gone in that moment, doesn't mean can't get it back, but it was just a bummer."
In the past, Kenny Omega has encouraged fans to let go of the Brawl Out incident, citing that nobody involved can talk about the situation. To learn more, click here.
Rhodes has noted in the past that he didn't leave All Elite Wrestling because of issues with CM Punk. Click here to learn more on Rhodes' comments.
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