Professional wrestling veteran and top AEW Star “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, who signed with the company in early 2019 and who is one of the key persons responsible for the creation of All Elite Wrestling, has reportedly been working in AEW without a contract for a few weeks now. Fightful Select previously reported that Cody’s contract with AEW expired at the end of 2021, which means that he has since been working as a free agent.
This past Wednesday’s Beach Break episode of AEW Dynamite saw “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes go up against “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara in a Ladder Match to unify their Interim AEW TNT Title and the TNT Title to crown an Undisputed AEW TNT Champion. Cody Rhodes would come out of the match on the losing end, which means Sammy Guevara would become the Undisputed AEW TNT Champion. Shortly after the match, Cody Rhodes took part in a backstage interview, where he addressed his future with the company and he confirmed that he has been working without an AEW contract and as a free agent.
This is what Cody Rhodes said:
“You asked for post-match comments so there are so many elephants in the room. This is an insane week in wrestling. People think the Sean Ross [Sapp] story is BS. No, it’s not, I’m working here without a contract. I’m not even on payroll anymore. I’m working here on a handshake deal, that is 100% legitimate, I swear on Pharaoh’s life. I can tell you this, I’ve never felt more at home than under those lights, wrestling for the TNT Title, a title that will never ever be secondary because of matches like that.”
Despite Cody Rhodes working without an AEW contract, he is expected to remain with the company as The American Nightmare is still an active competitor for All Elite Wrestling and he is still an executive for the promotion. Cody also has his family working for All Elite Wrestling and he has a reality show on TNT. “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes had a conversation with Sports Illustrated last month in regards to his future with the company. According to Cody, he can’t see himself working for any other company and AEW is and will always be his future.
This is what Cody Rhodes said:
“As of now, my future is with AEW. AEW would be very strange without the core members of the revolution. We (the EVP’s) all still talk. We all have this admiration for each other. I can’t see myself anywhere else, and I’m very optimistic about what the future holds.”
There’s no word yet on when and if Cody Rhodes will sign a new contract with AEW, but updates will be provided once it has been made available.
You can check out Cody Rhodes’ comments in the video below:
