"But I know some stuff that went on" - Dustin Rhodes didn't expect Cody Rhodes to leave AEW

Cody Rhodes created one of the wrestling world's biggest pops by winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. This was one of the few matches with a backstory that seeped into real life and played on the historical aspect of wrestling.

Cody Rhodes was among the first former WWE Superstars to sign with AEW in 2019. He took on an in-ring role in AEW and was also one of the company's EVPs. In early 2022, Rhodes left AEW and rejoined WWE. At Wrestlemania 39, he lost a title match to Roman Reigns, and that's when the concept of him finishing the story began.

The fact that Cody Rhodes left the Jacksonville-based company is still a point of discussion, and his half-brother Dustin Rhodes recently discussed whether he knew or thought Cody was leaving AEW on Insight with Chris Van Vliet:

"I didn't actually, I didn't. But I know some stuff that went on. And you know, I think it was just his time. He made a smart decision. He made a very smart decision. Look at him now. You know, he is the man here. So it's incredible. Incredible ride, incredible journey from him leaving the first time in WWE and saying he's betting on himself and just taking the ball and f*cking running with it. And he created something really cool. That's awesome," he said.

Vince Russo reveals Cody Rhodes has hurt him

Vince Russo had an iconic stint in wrestling but is a controversial figure to many fans. That's partly because of his sometimes incendiary comments. Now, Russo has found another target for those comments: Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. He recently shared that The American Nightmare had once hurt him with his remarks.

Earlier on an episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Russo said he lives 'rent-free' in Rhodes' mind. It all began when Rhodes cried during a promo where he spoke about his family on a March episode of RAW, and Russo called out The American Nightmare for it.

"Bro---I'm a man's man so I do want to put this publicly. Yes---I've had a checkered past with @CodyRhodes dating back to when he went to @AEW and said something about me that was untrue and defamatory---simply to get over with the Mark Fan Base. Yeah, I was hurt, because 1. I had never even met Cody and 2. I had worked with both his father and his brother and never had one issue with either one of them. Fact is that @dustinrhodes and myself were very close during the 'Goldust' years. So yeah---this really left me with a bad taste in my mouth towards Cody," the tweet read.

In the same post, he revealed that the two made up when Cody Rhodes apologized to Vince's son, Will Russo, when working with Diamond Dallas Page.

Cody is surely creating some stories for himself in WWE now, and it remains to be seen who his first defense of the championship will be against.