The full episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast with Cody Rhodes isn’t out until tomorrow (July 31), but the folks at Simmons’ website The Ringer knew exactly what clip to post to tease the show: the one where Rhodes talks about his AEW exit, and uses words like “disrespect” and “bad blood”.
We don’t hear the question (or questions — the 73 second clip seems to my eyes & ears to have at least two or three answers edited together) that produce Cody’s answers, but it starts with him saying, “There’s clearly
bad blood, but there’s also clearly respect and love.”
We then hear Rhodes say:
“In the end, the way I see it is, if I felt disrespected ever at WWE, that’s one thing. That’s a company that… that’s the [New York] Yankees. That’s the flagship of it all. If I ever felt there [at WWE] that I was a number on a sheet, maybe. But feeling disrespected at something I built... with my friends. That we built. Feeling disrespected there — I wouldn’t stand for it.”
He credited his wife Brandi for encouraging him to leave AEW in early 2022, setting the stage for his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 a coupe months later.
“Brandi and I both, I’m so blessed to have her. It was one of those where it was — ‘Fuck it. I did way more here than ya think, and you’re going to find out the moment I’m out the door.’”
The clip closes with Cody discussing “revenge”:
“I don’t believe in the cold-hearted, backstabby type of revenge. The greatest revenge on Earth is success. And, I felt like we were sitting on something wonderful, something great, a huge, potentially with what I was doing with the American Nightmare as a bad guy, as a good guy, something in between. We’re sitting on something magic.
“And if I’m not doing to do it in the house I literally with Matt [Jackson, of The Young Bucks], Kenny [Omega] and Nick [Jackson] built? Then, buddy, I’m going elsewhere.”
His name may come up elsewhere, but the absence of Tony Khan anywhere in Rhodes is potentially interesting. Cody’s taken the high road for the most part since leaving AEW, but he’s made it clear the end of his run there was not good. He’s also repeatedly said that his exit was due to a “personal issue” and not creative or money disputes.
We’ll see if we get any more clarity on what happened when the full episode of The Bill Simmons podcast hits in a few hours. For now, here’s the clip so you can judge it for yourselves.
“There’s clearly bad blood, but there’s also clearly respect and love.”
— The Ringer (@ringer) July 31, 2025
Cody Rhodes discusses what led to his departure from AEW. pic.twitter.com/U8RYZ90rHD
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