Cody Rhodes has given a small insight into his WWE return offer and how there were more important things at stake than his salary.
Following his AEW departure in February, many felt that it would only be a matter of time before Rhodes made his return to WWE later that year. When it was announced that Seth Rollins would be facing a mystery opponent at WrestleMania 38, fans knew that Rhodes would be back.
While appearing on FLAGRANT, the Undisputed Champion detailed the negotiation process and how he was offered a very healthy sum to return:
“[Vince] came to my house in Atlanta,” Rhodes said. “It was really old-school in terms of, ‘Hey, there’s no promises beyond this is what we are considering. You wrestling Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas.’ Seth Rollins was somebody I felt like I’d been chasing when I was there the first time. Really old-school, scribbled on a piece of paper the amount of money the contract would be for, and just slid it across, which was unnecessary.
I can’t tell you exactly how much it was, I can tell you it’s 15 times more than what I had been making in WWE the first run. It was a different layer…even with everything I had done. It was hilarious, it was slid across to me.”
“It Wasn’t Really A Money Thing”: Cody Rhodes
Although Rhodes’ return was expected, many were surprised to see that this was The American Nightmare persona from AEW complete with the same look and Kingdom entrance song by Downstait. Continuing, Rhodes added that his presentation was more important than his paycheck:
“I looked at that, and I actually didn’t, again, not the smartest, it wasn’t really a money thing. It was, I thought, this is huge. I own all this stuff, the logo, my music, my look. Most of the time, you get caught in the aspect of ‘that’s ours,’ these creations of yours. So many little things I created don’t belong to me. However, this was created outside, so I can bring this actual whole thing. So that was my concern, ‘The American Nightmare,’ the music is a big part of it, every aspect of that I do, the fact that I’m not gonna say title, I’ll say belt. I have to be me.
“One of the quotes that was given to me in that meeting was, ‘It’s not broke. That’s why we’re buying it.’ I thought, okay, then we’re on the same page. I wanted them to know I’ve done a few things here, I’ve got a good command of what I can do and what I can not do, and I played my cards that way, I suppose, and the next thing you know, there’s like this three-month period where now I’m off, shockingly have left this baby of mine, this thing that I really loved, to go back and go after the first dream I had in the business.”
Also in the interview, Cody Rhodes addressed his AEW exit.
H/t to WrestleZone.