Tony Khan has responded to recent comments made by Cody Rhodes regarding his departure from All Elite Wrestling, offering a calm and diplomatic take on the idea that there was lingering bad blood between the two sides.

Earlier this year, Rhodes appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast and spoke candidly about leaving All Elite Wrestling. He explained that feeling disrespected in AEW carried more weight than it might have elsewhere, given that it was a company he helped build from the ground up. While acknowledging tension surrounding his exit, Rhodes also made it clear at the time that there was still mutual respect and no outright animosity.

During a new interview with Q101, Khan was asked directly about those remarks and whether he agreed with Rhodes’s assessment. The AEW President suggested that the context of constant media obligations should be taken into account and emphasized that he has heard far more positive than negative comments from the current WWE Champion.

“He does a lot of interviews,” Khan said. “And I think when you have to say so many words so often, because he works so hard. He works such a big schedule. And to his credit, I’d bet he does hundreds of interviews a year. And I’m not sure I agree with that, but I also would give him the benefit of the doubt that I’ve heard him say a lot of positive things too. And for somebody that doesn’t work here and that’s involved in the competitive promotion, he’s usually pretty gracious with the things he says. And I’ve seen him since he’s been gone. And it’s always been very positive and good. I have only good things to say about him and his contributions here.”

Khan and Cody Rhodes were both central figures in AEW’s launch and early success, making their eventual split in 2022 a significant moment in modern wrestling history. The departure was attributed to a “personal issue” at the time, though Rhodes has never publicly gone into detail about what led to his decision to leave. Even so, he has consistently spoken about wanting AEW to thrive and has described the promotion as essential to the overall health and balance of the wrestling industry.

Since returning to WWE, Rhodes has firmly reestablished himself at the top of the card. He is currently reigning as WWE Champion and is gearing up for a major title defense against Drew McIntyre on the January 9 episode of SmackDown, continuing what has been one of the most successful runs of his career.

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