"It killed me" - Cody Rhodes details meeting that went terribly wrong between ex-WWE star and Tony Khan

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently recalled setting up a meeting between a former WWE Superstar and Tony Khan during his time in AEW. He disclosed that it was awkward and "tore him to shreds."

The former WWE star in question is Matt Cardona. The former Intercontinental Champion is The American Nightmare's best friend. While the latter was an Executive Vice President in AEW, he set up a meeting between Cardona and the company's co-owner, Tony Khan, to discuss the possibility of the 39-year-old joining the promotion. However, the conversation did not go as smoothly as Rhodes had hoped.

In an interview with The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, the Undisputed WWE Champion admitted that the meeting should have been private. However, he made a mistake by not making it so. Moreover, he pointed out that his best friend seemingly was nervous due to the uncomfortable setting. He also claimed that the meeting was "so insanely awkward":

"It was so insanely awkward for such a period of time because I noticed that Matt was like, you know when Matt gets kinda nervous? You know, like the shoulders tense up and his face gets a little more red than it already is, like there's, you can feel his energy getting nervous. So, I noticed he was a little nervous about this meeting, which whatever, I'm not judging that by any means. But he hasn't told me anything that he's gonna say and of course, I trust my best friend is gonna be just fine with this and I don't have to do anything other than, 'Hey guys, here you are.' That's it. They have a conversation," he said.

However, things did not go as The American Nightmare thought they would. Instead, he was shocked by how the conversation between Cardona and Khan started. He revealed that what his best friend said to the AEW co-owner "killed him" and "tore him to shreds":

"This is how the conversation opened up, and if I could have taken a fre**ing back bump on the cement, I would've taken a back bump, it was so shocking. Tony starts talking and before long, Matt goes, 'Well, let me stop you right there.' (...) He goes, 'Let me stop you right there. I want you to know that I don't want to be here to be Cody's friend. I want you to know that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a Nightmare Family jacket.' This is happening in real time to me and this is the guy I suggested coming as my friend. And I remember, to his credit, Tony being such a nice guy, he just kinda like, 'Oh, ok.' And the meeting was done. It was over. We sat there for probably another hour and nothing of substance was said because it just tore me to shreds. It killed me." [17:38 - 19:20]

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Cody Rhodes left AEW to return to WWE in 2022

After spending a few years in Tony Khan's promotion, Cody Rhodes left AEW in early 2022 after his contract expired. A few months later, he made a surprise return to WWE at WrestleMania 38. Since then, he has become one of the top superstars in the Stamford-based company.

The American Nightmare won the 2023 and 2024 Men's Royal Rumble Matches. Last April, he ended Roman Reigns' historic Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign at WrestleMania 40 to become the first member of his legendary family to hold a world championship in the promotion's history.

Rhodes will now defend his Undisputed WWE Championship this Saturday against AJ Styles at Clash at the Castle: Scotland. It would be interesting to see if he can defeat The Phenomenal One again after beating him earlier this year at Backlash: France.

What did you think of Cody Rhodes' AEW run? Hit the discuss button and sound off.

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