Cody Rhodes: I Thought I Would Encounter CM Punk In AEW

Cody Rhodes reflects on his relationship with CM Punk, their time in AEW, OVW, and where they stand today. 

Cody Rhodes became the first person to win back-to-back WWE Royal Rumbles in 26 years when he last eliminated CM Punk to win the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Match. Despite their different upbringings, there is a kinship between Cody and Punk. Both have traveled similar roads and crossed paths more than once inside the squared circle. 

Following his Royal Rumble victory, Rhodes was asked by Mike Coppinger of ESPN at the WWE Royal Rumble Post-Show Press Conference how he felt to be back in WWE along with CM Punk and what it meant for him to have the spot that he does today. 

Rhodes shared that he believed he would have initially crossed paths with CM Punk in All Elite Wrestling but for whatever reason, that was not to be. 

“It’s funny that we meet back here. Really. When we were at AEW, I thought we would encounter one another there. It didn’t happen. For whatever reason, it didn’t happen. I think both him and I had different personal experiences. Don’t believe anything that Wade Keller put out about why I left or anything like that. The truth is, nobody knows. Personal thing. Probably a personal thing for Punk. That happens. People come. People go. It’s not a huge thing,” said Cody. 

Cody also reflected on how special it was for him to be in the ring with people such as The Miz and Kofi Kingston as they all came up through the ranks together. 

“To see [CM Punk] tonight. To see Miz. To see Kofi. Those were my guys. First OVW show I walked into, Brent Albright vs. CM Punk was the main event and Punk was also running the whole show, maybe set up the ring. To see that, sometimes you want another person who you admire and respect to stop looking at you as the kid and look at you and see who you are now. I think he got to see who I am now. That means a lot to me. He’s amazing, could have gone either way, I look forward to what he does in WWE.” 

Cody Rhodes has successfully punched his ticket to Wrestlemania 40 and he’s already made it clear that there’s only one thing he wants and that is his rematch with Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Read more here.

Fans can find results from WWE Royal Rumble by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review of the show by clicking here. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a H/T and link back to Fightful for the transcription.