Cody Rhodes will no longer pursue the AEW World Championship following his loss to Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear. In an interview with Dallas Morning News, Cody revealed that he didn't want to face the same kind of criticism that his father did when he was both booker and wrestler in Jim Crockett Promotions.
Dusty Rhodes was a legend in the wrestling business and, alongside Ric Flair, was the face of the NWA/WCW era. Rhodes also booked matches behind the scenes while wrestling at the same time which earned him a fair amount of criticism.
Cody believes that his father and Ric Flair were the biggest wrestling stars at the time and that there were no problems with the booking.
"When he was with [Jim Crockett Promotions], people talk about all that, he made everybody at Crockett rich. Him and Ric Flair were the top stars. When you’re the top stars, they’re what the people wanted to see. But they all received that criticism later on, the political aspect of it. I figured I would just take a different path."
Cody also said that Tony Khan was against the idea but eventually came around to it. He also said that he was at peace with the decision and that the title doesn't belong to him.
"It’s not going to stop me from wrestling. It’s not going to stop me from even main-eventing if the match calls for it. But the title doesn’t belong to me. And unless the fans really wanted me to be champion, it wouldn’t belong to me. So right now, I’m happy with that decision."
Cody looks like he's sticking to the promise that he made about never challenging for the world title. However, in wrestling, things change, so never say never!