"Cody Rhodes came and sat with me, and he cried with me" - World Champion on learning of his father's passing at AEW

AEW was launched in 2019 with Cody Rhodes as one of the Executive Vice Presidents. The second-generation star served as a mentor and locker room leader while helping to build the company, and now, one veteran star is opening up about how he saw the current WWE Superstar.

Mike Santana recently left All Elite Wrestling after almost five years with the company. He is the current HOG World Heavyweight Champion and is moving forward with his career. He recently spoke out on what went wrong with his All Elite run.

Santana appeared on Chris Van Vliet's Insight podcast, and commented on Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE two years ago. The 33-year-old said he always knew The American Nightmare would return to the Stamford-based company.

"It's funny because now he's [Cody Rhodes] doing the whole 'finish the story' thing. That's real, and I always knew that there was a lot more that he needed to do. I knew that AEW wasn't going to be the end-all-be-all for Cody. I give him a lot of praise, man," Santana said. [From 41:44 to 42:12]

The Nasty Assassin continued by describing how he learned of his father's passing in early 2020 while working for AEW at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL. Santana said Brandi Rhodes consoled him, and then Cody came and cried with him.

"So, I found out my dad passed away when we were at Daily's Place. I flipped my s**t... I got the call and I go outside, and I'm flipping my s**t, I'm tossing guardrails and I was having a breakdown. Brandi [Rhodes] found me, and Brandi is like, 'What the hell?' She snatched me up... I'm like, bawling my eyes out, and I tell her what happened, and she's like, 'Come with me right now,' and she puts me in a room, and she's like, 'Stay here, do not move.' And she went and got Cody, and Cody came and sat with me, and he cried with me," Santana said. [From 42:13 to 42:58]

Despite their lengthy careers, Rhodes and Santana have only shared the ring on two occasions, and both of those were multi-man matches.

Will Cody Rhodes bring former AEW star to WWE?

The rumor mill is buzzing this week after former AEW star Fuego Del Sol teased a possible job with WWE.

Fuego left All Elite Wrestling in June 2023 after more than three years with the company. The 28-year-old grappler is good friends with Cody Rhodes, and the two once formed the Too Fast Too Fuego masked tag team.

Fans on X asked Fuego if he may end up in NXT or WWE. He responded with a teaser that quickly led to fans asking Rhodes to help his friend get signed by WWE.

"I think the chances are high," Fuego wrote.

Del Sol continues to work in the indies and has most recently worked for GCW. His last All Elite match was a loss to Juice Robinson on February 15, 2023 at the Dark tapings.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.