A new report has explained how officials from AEW’s broadcast partner spoke to Cody Rhodes about remaining with All Elite Wrestling.
Cody Rhodes shocked the wrestling world in early 2022 when it was announced that he and his wife Brandi were leaving AEW. Further surprise was to come when The American Nightmare showed up as a mystery opponent for Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38.
Fightful Select has now reported that officials from Warner Bros Discovery – the company that owns AEW’s broadcasters TNT and TBS – made “several efforts” to keep Rhodes in the company.
As well as AEW, Cody Rhodes also featured in WBD-owned properties Rhodes To The Top and Go Big Show and is said to have built a “good rapport” with many of those in the company. The report continues to say that there were inquiries made outside of AEW to understand the level of interest Cody Rhodes had in remaining All Elite.
Sam Linskey, Associate General Manager and Senior Vice President of Scripted Original Programming for TNT, TBS, and TruTV is named as one of the officials who reached out to Rhodes during this time, and Rhodes is said to have told those involved that it was simply “time to leave the territory.”
The report concludes by saying that while those in Warner Bros Discovery would have been happy to have retained Cody Rhodes’ services it was far from a “dealbreaker” with the company said to be happy with AEW – especially ratings attained throughout September.