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AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman recently opened up about his relationship with the WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes, who was one of the cornerstones of All Elite Wrestling since its inception and one of the prime reasons for its success and popularity.
Soon after AEW began airing its weekly show, Dynamite, in 2019, MJF joined forces with Cody Rhodes in his battle against Chris Jericho-led faction, The Inner Circle. However, The Salt of the Earth betrayed Rhodes and turned heel at Full Gear 2019 pay-per-view when he threw in the towel during The American Nightmare's AEW World Championship match against Jericho. As a result, Cody Rhodes lost the clash, after which MJF low-blowed him.
In his recently published conversation with The Players' Tribune, the AEW World Champion shed light on his relationship with the WWE Superstar. MJF revealed he has "a beautiful friendship" with Cody Rhodes, who took a chance on him by putting him on the All-In 2018 card:
"We have a beautiful friendship, in a business where friends are like unicorns, and I’ll just leave it at that," MJF said.
On the recent edition of AEW Dynamite, MJF lost the ROH Tag Team Titles to the Devil's Masked Men, which was later revealed to be an elaborate plan of Samoa Joe. The Salt of the Earth will defend the World Title against The Samoan Submission Machine at Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30, 2023.
History may repeat itself at Royal Rumble to favor both CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, says Vince Russo
Cody Rhodes and CM Punk are the top two picks to win the 30-man WWE Royal Rumble 2024 match.
Rhodes returned to WWE at Wrestlemania 38 in 2022, while CM Punk returned to the Stamford-based promotion last month at the Survivor Series PLE. Both the returning stars have been welcomed by the fans with open arms.
Speaking on Sportskeeda's Writing with Russo, the veteran said that both the former AEW stars might win the Royal Rumble 2024 match simultaneously, similar to the 1994 Royal Rumble, where Lex Luger and Bret Hart were co-winners:
"There is another way to go. Just repeat history, they do all that anyway. Cody and Punk hit the floor at the same time. They are co-winners. Cody gets Reigns, CM punk gets Rollins. I mean that sounds real simple to me," said Russo. [3:07 onwards]
Top AEW star drops massive tease about becoming a free agent. Read the full story here.
