Triple H Explains Why Cody Rhodes’ Throne Smash Didn’t Bother Him

Triple H has addressed one of the most talked-about moments from AEW’s early days—and it turns out, he was never angry about Cody Rhodes smashing his throne.

Back in 2019, Cody Rhodes smashed a throne at AEW Double or Nothing—clearly modeled after Triple H’s iconic entrance prop—in a moment widely seen as a direct shot at WWE. At the time, Rhodes was fully committed to building AEW into a true competitor, and the symbolism of that moment became a defining image of the so-called “war” between the companies.

Now, years later, both men revisited that exact moment on What Do You Wanna Talk About?—and the real story behind it is far more unexpected. Rhodes opened the door by pointing out that despite the very public nature of the moment, Triple H never once confronted him about it after his WWE return.

“You never once, when I came back, asked me about clearly taking your throne, making imagery in my entrance away from here, starting my own thing, and taking your hammer to it.”

Triple H didn’t just brush it off—he immediately reframed the entire moment, even joking about the visual while making it clear he respected what Rhodes was trying to do.

“I saw it as your hammer because it was smaller than mine. That kind of s*** to me is like—when people brought it up to me, I’m like, ‘F***, alright, good for him.’ That’s the kind of s*** you do—you try to make a name for yourself, try to do some cool s***.”

He then went deeper into his mindset at the time, explaining that if there had been any real personal issue behind the moment, he would have handled it directly—especially given how close he was to the Rhodes family.

“Believe me, if I thought there was some malice in it—and maybe indirectly there was some at the time, I don’t know—but if I thought there was any serious malice, I would have called you and said, ‘Hey, dude, are we okay?’”

Triple H also revealed that Cody’s departure from WWE in 2016 was something he took personally—but not in a negative way. Instead, he saw it as something Rhodes needed to do to grow.

“Because I was so close to your dad, and then I had a connection to you. It was difficult for me when you left, because I couldn’t say—I could say, ‘Dude, get the f*** out of here. Go out there and make a name for yourself and make yourself desirable. We’ll come f****** chasing after you and bring you back.’”

Looking back at the throne-smashing incident specifically, Triple H made it clear he viewed it as a bold career move—not a personal attack at all.

“Sometimes you’ve got to get out of the rut you’re in—just bite it off and go in a different direction. But during that time, I remember thinking, ‘Alright, that’s getting out there. That’s being bold and making a statement.’”

Rhodes then added more context from his side, explaining that Triple H actually encouraged that kind of energy—and even positioned himself as a symbolic target. He also pointed to something that happened behind the scenes that most fans never knew about—Triple H reaching out to him during a major moment outside WWE.

“You did tell me that, because you said, ‘Go rattle the cages,’ and you kind of made yourself the target for me to rattle in terms of the optics of wrestling. And there was no malice, for sure, because this is after I won the Ring of Honor title—one of the first texts I got back was yours, congrats, as I was walking to the hospital holding my first world title.”

Triple H doubled down again, explaining that from his perspective, the goal was always to see Cody succeed to the point where WWE would have no choice but to bring him back.

“It’s one of those things—you see somebody going off and doing their own thing, and I’m like, ‘F*** yeah—f***, Cody, come on! Get yourself in that spot where we’re like, “Hey, we should go get him. I don’t know what he did different, but let’s go get him.”’”

Rhodes admitted that at the time, he wasn’t sure how that moment would be received—and whether it might come back to haunt him later: “I’m glad the feeling is good on it, because I’m thinking, man, if he’s mad about it, it’s a long road, whatever the payoff is.”

But Triple H closed the door on that idea completely, making it clear there was never any grudge—and never going to be: “Haha, yeah—waiting on that receipt. Nah, man, I never thought about anything other than, yeah, good for him—go get it.”

Instead of heat, there was respect—and instead of tension, there was a long-term vision that ultimately played out exactly how Triple H described it. Cody left, made himself undeniable, and WWE came back for him. That throne smash wasn’t the end of a relationship—it was part of the path that brought him right back to the top of the company.

So now that we know how Triple H really felt… did that moment age better knowing there was no real bad blood, or did it lose some of its edge? Drop your thoughts below and let us know.

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