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Cody Rhodes believes he did not have the maturity to balance himself between being an executive and an in-ring worker in AEW.
The American Nightmare was one of the founding fathers of All Elite Wrestling, but he booked himself out of the world title picture. This angle happened when Rhodes lost to Chris Jericho, which meant he would never challenge for the AEW World Championship.
On the Out Of Character podcast, he explained the struggle to find the balance between both his roles in the Jacksonville-based promotion.
"With that in mind, I needed to go and be that (world champion), and I wanted to be both (an EVP and one of the boys) and it was just too difficult. And that's where I did not have the maturity to balance it. It wasn't a matter of being one of the boys versus not because I'm no longer just one of the boys. I love it and wish I could be one, but I've been in this position before. I've been on the other side. I've been in these production meetings and things of that nature, and I've been part of the technical production, but, I just think it would have served me better a little later in my life when I could look at a show and say I don't want to be in the top spot." (26:05 - 27:02)
Cody Rhodes explained another conflict of his in AEW
The conflict of not offending his colleagues while still being a top wrestler got too much for Cody Rhodes. He believes he could not play in the middle anymore.
"You need that good competition in your locker room. That positive real competition. And if I can't be the best wrestler in the world on television because I'm afraid I'm going to offend colleagues because I am also their boss, that was the situation we were in and I just played it in the middle and that's it, there was only so much of playing in the middle I could do." (26:38-27:05)
Cody Rhodes received a grand welcome at WrestleMania 38. He went on to defeat Seth Rollins, one of the biggest names in WWE and picked up a victory over The Miz on a recent episode of RAW. The 3-time TNT Champion intends to win the biggest prize in the business, and his chase will be fascinating to watch.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Out Of Character podcast and give an h/t to this article.
