Cody Rhodes Says This Exec Was 'Instrumental' In His Return To WWE

On "Cheap Heat", Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes spoke about the many key factors that were crucial in bringing him back to WWE, but he specifically outlined one exec that was pivotal in making his transition from AEW possible. "American Nightmare, the skull, the Cody-vator, all these fun stuff that I tried to bring to WWE ... none of those things would have ever showed up at WrestleMania in Dallas without three people. One of them is Bruce Prichard, the other is Brandi Rhodes, who I often cite as the sole reason, and the other is Conrad Thompson and they know why, there's nothing duplicitous about it but without Bruce reaching out when I became a free agent, without him verifying it, the conversation would have never started." 

Rhodes continued to express his admiration for Prichard, explaining how instrumental he was when it came to signing a new contract, and sharing what his initial thoughts were when WWE asked to meet him in 2022 for the first time since leaving the company. "Nobody wanted to get into a tampering thing, nobody wanted to cross any wires that they shouldn't cross and Bruce was able to verify ... when I took the initial meeting, I didn't think I was coming back to WWE. I thought I was having a meeting to get some closure and show respect and love for WWE as kind of an adult, whereas I had left more as a child and I'd left a bit in disgrace, but yeah Bruce Pritchard was instrumental." 

Rhodes had his first title defense as Undisputed WWE Champion against AJ Styles at Backlash on Saturday, where he emerged victorious.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Cheap Heat" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.