"I will never let somebody weaponize a friendship against me" - Former AEW champion talks about backlash for supporting Cody Rhodes

A former AEW star has opened up about his friendship with Cody Rhodes. He also commented on the backlash he received for supporting The American Nightmare.

Ricky Saints is known for being very good friends with Cody Rhodes. He made his AEW debut against The American Nightmare, and since then, the two of them have gotten quite close. Saints was backstage at WWE shows for Rhodes a few times after the latter returned to the sports entertainment juggernaut.

The Absolute was also in attendance when Rhodes won the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. During the same time, Saints' booking in AEW took a hit, leaving many to wonder if he was being punished for supporting the SmackDown star.

On the latest episode of What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes, Ricky Saints said he will never let anyone weaponize a friendship against him. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion also denied getting in trouble for supporting Rhodes.

“I will never let somebody weaponize a friendship against me. If you take that whole situation out of its element and you show someone, ‘Hey, this guy got in trouble—so to speak—for being at his friend’s biggest moment of his career,’ what do you think of that? That’s a beautiful thing. Why should I ever get in trouble? Even to this day, I will ride for somebody—because that’s just in my nature.” [H/T: WrestlePurists on X]

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Dutch Mantell praised Cody Rhodes' recent match

Cody Rhodes reached the 2025 King of the Ring Tournament Final at Night of Champions, where he faced his mentor, Randy Orton. Both men put on an incredible match, and it was The American Nightmare who emerged victorious in the end.

Speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine, Dutch Mantell praised Rhodes and Orton's ability to adjust the match according to fans' reactions.

"The match between Cody and Orton was a class in how to do it," Mantell said. "They timed it right, and what I noticed about it, of course, those fans are rabid. They are loud. And that meant they had to do less. What made that match better than what it was was the fans." [0:37 – 1:03]

It will be interesting to see whether Rhodes will win the Undisputed WWE Championship from John Cena at SummerSlam.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Pratik Singh