Cody Rhodes Reportedly Felt It Was "Time To Leave The Territory"

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer summed up Cody Rhodes' mindset when he decided to leave AEW in one simple sentence. It was, "time to leave the territory".

That was Meltzer's summation of a brief message he says he received from Cody. Meltzer mentioned it during Tuesday's episode of We're Live, Pal.

Meltzer said Cody had nothing bad to say about AEW but added that Rhodes was hurt by some of the things he saw written and said about him after news broke last week that he and his wife Brandi were leaving the company.

Cody is reportedly returning to WWE and there were a number of references to his past characters on Monday night's episode of RAW and on WWE's social media. He was spotted in Florida over the weekend where he was expected to begin shooting content for his imminent WWE comeback. Rhodes did not travel with the WWE crew to Saudi Arabia for last Saturday's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

Meltzer said he believes that Cody Rhodes may feel frustrated with some fans. Rhodes was one of the founding executive vice-presidents of AEW and Meltzer thinks Rhodes may feel he's not fully appreciated for the role he played in getting the company started.

When it comes to Cody feeling it was "time to leave the territory", Meltzer said many of Cody's thoughts and philosophies regarding pro wrestling are similar to those of his father, the late pro wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes. During much of Dusty Rhodes' career, it was common for wrestlers to periodically move from one territory to the next to keep their characters fresh and preserve their drawing power.

Meltzer said that Cody may have sensed that other wrestlers who'd arrived in AEW over recent months were going to be more prominently featured going forward. Meltzer also speculated that fans booing Rhodes during AEW broadcasts may have played a role in his decision to leave the company.