Cody & Brandi Rhodes/AEW fallout: Timeline, locker room reaction, reasons

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer delved more into the Cody & Brandi Rhodes split from AEW from the timeline that led to the end, possible reasons, and the reaction from both the AEW and WWE locker rooms.

Meltzer noted that both the Khans and the Rhodes agreed to not publicly discuss the reasons for the split.

Timeline and reasons for the split 

He confirmed both Rhodes family members had signed three-year deals that expired on December 31st. One of the bigger questions out there is why Khan didn’t pick up Rhodes’ two-year option like he has done with other talents like the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Chris Jericho.

He wrote that a source “near the top” told him everyone has been quiet about the situation with the option while another said that “Khan saw that Rhodes wasn’t happy and even with the option period, Khan was agreeable to allow him to go if he didn’t want to stay.”

There had been negotiations for a new deal with Cody and Brandi over the last six weeks with both working in community relations and otherwise as if they were staying. As recently as five weeks ago, Khan thought both were staying with negotiations breaking off this past Monday.

Meltzer said “most of the top people in AEW were not aware anything was up and figured they were staying” until last Monday.

Regarding the SI report that said Rhodes’ loss of booking power was a key factor in his decision to leave, Meltzer wrote, “It is true that Rhodes was expecting more power over things like booking than ended up transpiring when Khan took over the booking process at the start of 2020, but that issue took place more than two years ago. Rhodes, the Young Bucks and (Kenny) Omega all had input on the booking, but in the end, it was Khan’s decisions.”

He later wrote, “There were definitely issues with the women’s division which, at first, was earmarked for Brandi, but Omega ended up getting more control and being heavily involved in match layouts. But even then, it’s still Khan who had the final say.”

Relations among the EVPs

Meltzer said that according to multiple people, “the EVPs were actually on their best terms in a long time of late” and were working as recently as last week on future projects.

Even with reports coming out last year about issues between the group, Meltzer wrote there was never a period of time in which they all weren’t talking. Rhodes’ relationship with both the Bucks and Omega was always more about business than a friendship whereas Omega and the Bucks are very close personally.

Rhodes To The Top season 2

Meltzer reported that filming for season two for Rhodes To The Top had begun and that TNT is exploring options of what to do with that footage they already have. Those decisions are likely to be made in the coming weeks, but everything is up in the air right now.

Reaction within AEW and WWE

He said that while many within AEW went public with their praises for both Cody and Brandi, some are happy they are leaving and with the sentiment that “the ‘hero treatment’ given to him by some in the company after he left is a great public story but not the real story.”

He added that “a lot of the talent quietly were celebrating and that it wasn’t all the sadness that it was made out to be” with the reaction being a positive one from much of the locker room despite Rhodes having his supporters.

He wrote that Rhodes was the most hands-on backstage of the EVPs and “the differences of opinion on him stemmed from those who liked his being the most aggressive and those who didn’t like it.”

He said talent in WWE were talking as if the split was due to AEW’s budget.

“Two WWE names who were both great workers had deals up, with Kevin Owens being one and the other not being Sami Zayn, but someone whose contract situation has not been public, and there was at least interest in them as far as seeing what AEW had. Legally, neither one could be negotiated with and Owens signed a new deal before his old deal expired. The other is still with the company appearing regularly on television. AEW didn’t make a play and the word was that AEW had a talent budget and were not going to match the WWE’s high offers unless or until they got a new and higher paying television deal and that won’t be until the start of 2024,” he wrote.