Cody Rhodes On Why He Wasn't Mature Enough To Be An AEW EVP

Shortly after his WWE return at WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes noted he wasn't mature enough to be an Executive Vice President of All Elite Wrestling.

The American Nightmare elaborated on those comments during an appearance on Out Of Character with Ryan Satin and Cody noted that as an EVP in AEW, he found himself stuck between wanting to be the best wrestler in the world and a higher-up in a pro wrestling promotion.

Looking back, Rhodes admitted the role should have been something he tried later in his in-ring career.

"Immature enough is what I said in the moment and I think more I meant, that role, I did well with it and I was very active and I did start the community department and Brandi did bring Kulture City into the wrestling and sports entertainment space. We were very active in terms of all the facts and assets of that gig, but I think that job was meant maybe for...we wanted a wrestling company brought to you by wrestlers, for sure, that was a huge part of the mission, but maybe it would have been better served for me at age 45 than it did at age 33," Rhodes began.

"I am just now entering the prime of my career. To make political decisions like boxing myself out of winning a world championship, those decisions, in hindsight, were not the correct decisions in what I should have been doing. I'm the best wrestler in the world, I can tell you that without it sounding braggadocious, simply because it's all I do. I train to do it, I live and breathe it, I have a school here with four rings, I treat this like an athlete in the NFL would treat a game," he continued.

"With that in mind, I needed to go and be that, and I wanted to be both. It was too difficult and that's where I didn't have the maturity to balance it. It wasn't a matter of being one of the boys vs. not because I'm no longer just one of the boys, I love it and wish I could be one, but I've been in this position before and been on the other side and in the production meetings and part of the technical production, but I think it would have served me better later in life when I could look at a show and be like, 'I don't want to be in the top spot.' 

"You need that good competition in your locker room, that positive and real competition, if I can't be the best wrestler in the world on television because I'm afraid I'm going to offend colleagues because I'm also their boss, that was the situation we were in, and I just played it in the middle. There was only so much of playing it in the middle I could do and now I'm not in charge of anything, other than me and being a pro wrestler. I say I'm the best wrestler in the world, I felt like it for years, now we're in a situation where I do have to be careful of how I say it because I'm not carrying the belt."

Cody founded AEW in January 2019 with Tony Khan, wife Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. He and Brandi left the promotion earlier this year.

H/T to Fightful