Chris Jericho helped build up All Elite Wrestling to the grand spectacle it is today, but he didn’t do it alone. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Jericho spoke about the recent departure of Cody Rhodes from the company he turned into a must-see show.
“Is it surprising at first? Sure. But it’s wrestling, man,” said Jericho when asked about Rhodes leaving. “It happens all the time. The only reason why this was such a big one is because it’s the first AEW guy who left, and obviously Cody had a huge part in this company. But now there’s Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Cole and Keith Lee with us. The more of those guys we bring in, the less spotlight is necessary to be shown on Cody Rhodes. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why he left. I really don’t know. No one knows except for Tony Khan and Cody Rhodes. But he wasn’t happy in AEW, so he’s going to WWE, or be a stay-at-home dad, or do TV shows or whatever it is he’ll do.”
While Jericho doesn’t know the exact reasons as to why Cody Rhodes left, he does know one thing, and it’s that he believes Rhodes will eventually look back on the move with regret.
“I honestly think, in a few years, he’ll look back and think, ‘I had it pretty good in AEW. Maybe I should have stuck around,'” Jericho said. “But you can’t think that way. Guys come and go all the time. That’s the business. Look at WWE—Hulk Hogan left, Bret Hart left, Steve Austin left, The Rock left, John Cena left, Shawn Michaels left. It’s Saturday Night Live. Adam Sandler left. Eddie Murphy left. Will Ferrell left. What do we do? You build new stars and move forward. Good luck to Cody, and good luck to us. That’s the nature of the beast.”
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