-- Cody Rhodes' announcement this morning revealing his departure from AEW has been the big news all day an there is more information trickling in about how and this came about. PWInsider.com is reporting that Rhodes and AEW President Tony Khan "hit a snag" in contract talks several weeks ago and it was over compensation (with another report suggesting that Cody was looking for a huge money deal). When talks broke down, people in AEW began speculating about his departure and it intensified last week Wednesday when Rhodes was not there. ESPN's Mike Coppinger reported that Cody's "road case" which contained his ring gear and other belongings on the road had been cleaned out, which many saw as a sign that he was as "good as gone."
-- The strong belief is that Rhodes is headed back to WWE, where he left on not-so-good terms in 2016 after asking for his release. WWE officials have been talking to Rhodes since his contract expires at the end of December (as to avoid tampering charges) and while no one has officially confirmed that he's put pen to paper, most feel as if it just a matter of time. If and when he signs with WWE, Cody would be free to appear immediately as he is no longer under AEW contract and hasn't been for almost two months. Furthermore, Rhodes has a "strong relationship" with current WWE Head of Talent, John Laurinaitis, who is the perso who initially signed Cody to a WWE deal back in 2006.
-- PWInsider.com further reports that there is "excitement" within WWE about Cody jumping ship from AEW as he would be the first person to do so since AEW came into existence and would bring him with a lot of intimate knowledge about how AEW functions and operates both from a talent and management position as he was both a wrestler and an executive. One source believes that Rhodes could be at the WWE Performance Center for training as early as this weekend.
