Cody Rhodes officially left AEW on February 15 when both sides put out a statement announcing his departure.
Rhodes' contract expired at the start of 2022 and the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on a new deal.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Cody was asked when he knew his time with AEW would be coming to an end.
"The Loews Hotel in Rosemont by the Allstate Arena. I looked at Brandi and I told her. The last time I told her something like that is when I told her I was leaving WWE. I had kind of done it all in my mind. I was sitting there at the bar in the corner booth and I knew. I mentioned it on the Raw interview that I did, and I was so excited to do that type of interview, it was an easy decision. It was. After the heaviness and hardness of what that departure meant, the decision was easy in terms of what I needed to do next," he said. "I'm so proud of everything. From every Independent I went to, which is every single one on Earth, it felt like. To New Japan, to Ring of Honor, to All In, to All Elite Wrestling. That block being filled provided that clarity to me. I have to take a shot at this. Everyone is different. Everyone wants to be the best pro wrestler or best superstar. I ad a real goal at eight-years-old and I didn't get the chance...I got the chance, but I wasn't ready. I failed at the chance. Life is so much more about losing than it is about winning. I absolutely felt I could make the run at it hear. Whether it is unobtained is one thing, but I didn't want it to go unsaid or untried."
Cody didn't name an exact time or date of when he made the decision. AEW was in Illinois in September for All Out and November for Dynamite.
Rhodes would wrestle his last AEW match at Beach Break on January 26 against Sammy Guevara. The two battled in a ladder match to determine the Undisputed AEW TNT Champion.
Speaking about his final match, Cody said, "My future was in doubt, for sure, my mind was all over the place, but there are still fans in the seats. This is still one of my kids. I can't get in my own head and sabotage this or turn out anything less than what I would have liked to turn out, which is the very best that you can possibly do. I don't play around with eight-foot ladders. For a television perspective, they have to be 10 or 12. The eight just looks rinky dinky. If there was one to go out on, I'm so glad we got to do that for Sammy. He's one of my kiddos. To do that for him and be part of that was great."f
After the bout, Cody spoke to AEW cameras and confirmed that he had been working on a handshake deal and that he was unsure what the future would hold for him.
Cody previously said that he started thinking about a WWE return around the Royal Rumble. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Cody is set to wrestle his first match on WWE Raw since 2016 on Monday when he faces The Miz.
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