Cody Rhodes was not a major star when he left WWE, claims veteran (Exclusive)

Ever since he made his return at WrestleMania 38, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has been one of the biggest stars in the promotion. The 40-year-old has achieved more success in the three years since his return than he had achieved in the 10 years of his first run with the company.

Keeping that in mind, veteran journalist Bill Apter claims that the American Nightmare wasn't a major star when he left WWE in 2016. Recently, Cody's former colleague, Bryan Danielson, stated that the former TNT Champion is a megastar in WWE because of AEW, and Apter seems to agree with Danielson's comment.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Apter stated that WWE was unsure of what to do with Cody Rhodes when he was with them. He added that AEW gave Cody the chance to be a megastar there, which is why the Stamford-based promotion came calling.

"Cody, when he left, WWE was not a major star at that particular [time]. They didn't know what to do with him. AEW put him up on a very high perch and gave him the part to be a megastar there. After a long while, they kind of faded him out. But WWE saw what Cody could be. So in a way, yes." Apter said.

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Cody Rhodes helped build All Elite Wrestling from the ground up and was one of the founding fathers of the promotion. He was the inaugural TNT Champion and won the belt a further two times in his three years with the promotion. Cody returned to WWE following the expiry of his AEW contract and has since won the Undisputed WWE Championship and the Royal Rumble twice.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed