During an appearance on the “Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” podcast, along with Conrad Thompson overseas in the UK, Cody Rhodes revealed he recently turned down an offer to make a return to WWE in 2019.
According to a report by WrestleTalk, Cody was asked a question by a fan in attendance if he had any plans on returning to WWE. Rhodes revealed that he had “passed on the WWE offer a few weeks ago.” He becomes a free agent beginning January 1.
He also noted a demand for a non-PG wrestling product following the success of the ALL IN event in Chicago this past September, which was a sold out event. Rhodes also addressed the demand for wrestling in the UK and Australia, describing them as the two major territories in wrestling outside of the United States right now.
As reported earlier, trademarks were filed back in November for what appears to be a new wrestling promotion going by the name of All Elite Wrestling. Cody, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and Jim Ross are all rumored to be involved with the project. Jericho and Ross continue to deny any involvement publicly.
Rhodes, along with his wife Brandi, were spotted in a VIP box at a Jacksonville Jaguars game last week, furthering the rumors of the new promotion. Trademarks were filed by All Elite Wrestling, LLC on November 5 by the same addresses as the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Tony Khan is rumored to be financially backing this new promotion. The Khan family are the owners of the Jaguars in Florida.
Cody Rhodes just chillin in the Jacksonville Jaguars VIP box. pic.twitter.com/mRGpSb0igy
— PWP Nation (@PWPNation) December 3, 2018