Before he was focused on finishing his story, Cody Rhodes was bent on starting a library’s-worth of new ones. Rhodes helped found All Elite Wrestling in 2019 alongside long-time partners Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Rhodes worked with AEW owner and founder Tony Khan to populate the start-up company’s roster with available talent from across the wrestling world. This included ready-made television talent like Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley as well as independent standouts such as Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Darby Allin. Rhodes is specifically credited for recruiting MJF and Allin to AEW.
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Those recruitment efforts went beyond the men’s singles division. Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, former AEW star Mike Santana revealed that Rhodes specifically brought him and ex-tag partner Ortiz into AEW.
“Our thing was, Cody was the one who hired us,” Santana said. “Before anything, we had spoke [to him] a while back. We had given Cody our word. Our word is everything.”
Around the time of this handshake deal, WWE came calling.
“We had spoken to WWE extensively and they made it very hard for us to turn them down,” Santana continued. “By that point, [WWE] asked, ‘Hey, have you signed anything?’ We’re like, ‘No, but we gave our word and we would like to stick to that.’”
Santana and Ortiz would make their AEW debuts at AEW All Out 2019 and went on to main-event the first episode of AEW Dynamite, tagging with Chris Jericho in a victorious effort against Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Collectively known as Proud & Powerful, the duo found success within Jericho’s Inner Circle faction, headlining numerous special AEW Dynamite episodes as well as AEW Double or Nothing 2021.
“At that time, we both had young children and we wanted to see them grow up and the schedule was much easier with AEW,” Santana added. “Plus, the opportunity to be a part of history and be a part of something that was brand new and fresh and at the ground level. Honestly, like now, I can say that I was a part of that legacy. No matter what, people can always go back, very first [Dynamite], very first main event, my name is there. I’m happy with that.”
Santana’s final AEW match came this past October. He was quietly removed from the AEW roster page earlier this year, signifying his exit from the company. His departure came willingly, as he has emphasized his desire to pursue a singles career across the independent circuit.
