Eric Bischoff Not Surprised Cody Rhodes Left AEW

Three years on from founding the promotion with Tony Khan, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, Cody and Brandi Rhodes left All Elite Wrestling on Tuesday, February 15.

Cody is reportedly returning to WWE, although when he will appear on WWE TV again has yet to be revealed, while Brandi won't be joining her husband in Vince McMahon's company.

Speaking about Cody's AEW exit on his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff noted he wasn't surprised by The American Nightmare's departure.

"I'm not surprised, not nearly as surprised as everyone else is. And it's not because I have any inside information, it's not because I spoke to Cody, Cody and I text back and forth every couple of months. I was more surprised that Cody left WWE. You're 30-years-old, on the biggest stage in the world in your particular industry and yeah, you might be saddled with a character or gimmick that you don't particularly like but you're making damn good money. You could probably retire in 5-10 years if you were smart, or less. But he was willing to walk away from that because he wasn't satisfied," Bischoff began.

"Reminded me of his dad, I sent Cody when the news hit that he left WWE, I sent Cody a text telling him how proud I was of him and subsequently Cody called me and I remember I was in Los Angeles and it was the end of the day and we spoke briefly about it and I said, 'Cody, your dad would be so proud of you.' Because Dusty was a lot like that, he was never satisfied, he always wanted something bigger and something more and he believed in himself and Dusty was willing to walk away if need be. When I heard that Cody left WWE, we had that conversation and I just told him how proud I was."

Bischoff then gave his thoughts on why Cody left AEW, adding:

"I think Cody was probably sitting and looking at the landscape of where AEW was going and it didn't coincide with the vision that he originally bought into and it wasn't going to get him where he wanted to go and made a decision. I'd bet a lot of money that Tony [Khan] offered up a pretty substantial sum of money that the average person walking the face of this country could retire on for like a year or two... but Cody made a decision that was different.

"He made a decision that took a lot of guts and I can't tell you how proud I am of him for putting his family first and putting his confidence on the line the way that he did. If he ends up in WWE, I'm relatively certain his future is very secure but it's not even about the money. It's about staying true to yourself and doing what you feel is right for you and your family in the long term.

"That sounds like it'd be easy but it's not, especially when you're young. 36-years-old, I still wear shoes that are older than Cody Rhodes, 36 is still a kid to me. You learn so much more after the age of 40, Cody is still so young and to be able to make that big of a decision and put himself out there, cause you know he's going to get criticised. You know there are going to be people that want to bury him for doing it because that's the nature of the wrestling audience. Cody is going to take some heat but he had the balls to do what's best for him and I don't know how you don't admire that."

H/T to Wrestling Inc.