Cody Rhodes made his return to WWE at the Royal Rumble, competing in his first match since undergoing surgery for a torn pectoral muscle.
Rhodes' journey back to the ring was well documented and through the journey, he had support from his circle, which included AEW wrestler and friend Ricky Starks. A photo was taken of Cody backstage at the Rumble and behind him was Starks, creating a discourse online regarding an AEW wrestler supporting a WWE wrestler.
Addressing the incident on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Cody said, "I'll take full blame. My fault. It was a friend coming to see me in a very big, truly emotional moment. To lose your confidence as an athlete, a fighter, and entertainer; to get back up off the mat, and not just get back up, you have to be at the level you were. I liked having people in my circle around me. I think also, that will be the only time anyone from another company is ever present because it creates a conversation that is not accurate. It creates an outlook...this is my friend. He wanted to be there to support me. He should have stayed his butt on the bus, he did not, and because of that, no friends at work anymore. I'll make some new friends at WWE so there is not random surveillance photos of them and I walking backstage. You know you're pretty popular when people are making a story out of that. So, I guess good for the Rick Man."
Starks recently addressed the photo, saying he didn't give a shit about tribalism and is a grown man who was there to support his friend. You can find Starks' full comments by clicking here.
Starks was signed to AEW after answering Cody's open challenge for the AEW TNT Championship on the June 17, 2020 episode of AEW Dynamite.
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