"Tony Khan let him go" – Wrestling veteran claims that he was "shocked" to see Cody Rhodes go back to WWE after leaving AEW

During a recent interview, WWE veteran Mike Chioda said he was shocked to see Cody Rhodes return to WWE.

The American Nightmare departed AEW earlier this year to re-sign with his former company. Since returning to WWE in April, Rhodes has been on an unbeaten run. His first feud was against Seth Rollins, whom he beat on three different occasions.

Speaking on The Universal Wrestling Podcast, Chioda, who worked for the WWE as a referee for nearly 30 years, briefly recalled Rhodes starting AEW alongside Tony Khan in 2019.

"AEW's got a hell of a lot of talent over there right now. I was shocked to see Cody go back, I really was. When Cody started with Tony Khan, this whole starting AEW, I was just shocked that Cody went back and Tony Khan let him go. So you knew there was things going haywire up on the top already before all this," said Chioda. [H/T:Wrestling Inc]

AEW star Powerhouse Hobbs recently spoke about Cody Rhodes' role in getting him signed to AEW

Powerhouse Hobbs was recently in conversation with Bill Apter on Sportskeeda Wrestling.

During an exclusive interview, Hobbs revealed how Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall approached him to sign for the promotion. He said:

"A friend of mine, promoter Marcus Mack, actually got contacted by Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall. So I got a text that I sat on for a few hours from QT Marshall saying ‘Hey we’d like to bring you in, are you local to Jacksonville?’ I told QT I’m not local, but I’ll find my way to Jacksonville and everything took off from there."

Since signing with the company in 2020, Hobbs has been influential and has established his place as a popular rising star. He was recently in a feud with his former tag team partner, Ricky Starks.

Despite Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE, he has surely played a big role in getting some big names signed to the Jacksonville-based promotion.

The American Nightmare is currently sidelined due to an injury, and there's no word on when the star will return.