Cody Rhodes reacts to The Elite re-signing with AEW

Cody Rhodes is happy to see his friends in The Elite get paid.

It was revealed earlier this week that Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Page have all signed new multi-year deals with AEW. During an interview on the Swerve City Podcast, The Young Bucks called their deals “NBA-level contracts.” The financial terms haven’t been publicly disclosed.

Rhodes, who was one of the founding fathers of AEW before leaving for WWE, was asked about the news while speaking to the wrestling media during SummerSlam weekend. Rhodes told Haus of Wrestling that he’s very happy when any wrestler gets paid.

“I’m very happy when any wrestler or superstar gets paid,” Rhodes said. “I don’t want to sound carny or hacky but to know that your peers and people who take the bumps and go through all this and have that type of the physical struggle that comes with this gig, to know they’re getting paid is really exciting. I am over the moon that that group did what they did because, as Nick Jackson said, I believe they’ve made some ‘NBA money’ off of it.”

Rhodes added that, while he would have loved to see his friends again, he understands that the WWE and AEW schedules are different. Rhodes said the schedules fit different types of personalities.

“I’m honestly just really happy for them. I am. I would have loved to have seen them again. But, you know, I’m very happy with the choices they made, and that schedule is a little different. This gig is, this particular gig at WWE, it’s a different type of personality that maybe fits me a little bit more.”

Rhodes is facing Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam on Saturday night. With a 1-1 record against each other entering the match, this will settle Rhodes and Lesnar’s rivalry.