Cody Rhodes and CM Punk were co-workers in AEW for roughly six months before the former decided to take another crack at winning the “big one” in WWE.

Over that short but sweet period of time when it felt like the promotion was on top of the world, the duo never shared the ring for a match, weren't involved in any angles, and may not have shared more than a few hellos backstage considering Rhodes' status as an EVP but for the most part, that didn't matter. No, AEW had poached a pair of big time, big deal performers from WWE with all sorts of championship pedigree, and they were going to use that energy to establish a legitimate alternative to what then-booker Vince McMahon was doing over at Titan Towers.

Fast forward to November of 2023, and the duo finally got to share the same entrance ramp, only this time, it was at Survivor Series for WWE, as Punk made his triumphant return after Rhodes secured the pin in the match his father created, WarGames.

Asked what it's like to get Punk back in WWE for the first time in almost a decade at the official Survivor Series press conference, Rhodes let it be known that if the “Best in the World” is hungry and ready to contribute, then he's happy to have him on the same team once more.

“I don't want to be short with my response, but it truly is this. If he can help with where we're going and what we're doing, absolutely. Welcome aboard,” Cody Rhodes told the media at the Survivor Series press conference. “I have a feeling that the CM Punk that potentially we're getting is hungry, and that's the best. That's the best. When someone is hungry, and someone wants it. That's when it's real. I'll give kudos and flowers to Triple H and Nick Khan for getting that done. You can ask all the boys and girls until they are blue in the face, ‘How do you feel?' You might get up, you might get down, you might have a wide range of emotions, but the first thing, always, is business. We're doing record business. It feels like everybody wants to be here. The more, the merrier. If you can help, absolutely, come on board.”

While the deal to bring Punk, which Paul “Triple H” Levesque said came together very fast, hasn't been universally popular within the WWE Universe, as Seth Rollins went on a profanity-laced rant ringside regarding the matter, it's safe to say Rhodes is open to giving him a second chance, as goodness knows he said some pretty wild things about WWE and “The Game” specifically when he was out of the company.

Cody Rhodes couldn't be more thankful to reunite with Randy Orton.

Turning his attention from one surprise return to another, Cody Rhodes was asked what it was like to return to the ring with his fellow Legacy member Randy Orton at WarGames and effectively shared that, in his humble opinion, he wouldn't have a career without the “Apex Predator.”

“Oh man, at the end of the match, Randy said to me, ‘Thanks for the phone call,' and I wanted to tell him, ‘Thanks for my career,' you know?  I keep thinking this is gonna end, right? And I couldn't have gotten to where I got had I not been around Randy,” Cody Rhodes told the assembled media.

“Randy is so many wild, chaotic, and you hear all of these funny stories about him and all this and that nonsense, but as a person, a performer, a WWE Superstar, what an outstanding mentor he was to me. Truly, I'll never forget standing in the ring at the Royal Rumble when won and pointed up at the star, the WrestleMania sign, and just thinking, like, ‘I wanna be like him.' I mean, that's as nice as I'm gonna get about him.

“I was really touched, and I think a lot of emotions tonight because my father-in-law, he's in the hospital, and Michael Cole shouted him out on commentary, and I really appreciate that, Otis has been the biggest fan, and we love Otis, and we want him to get better and all of those things, so I was thinking about that, I was thinking about Randy, and then of course, the cage opens up, and I walk out, and for the first time in the day, everyone else has seen it, but for the first time in the day, I thought, ‘Oh, this is my dad's match.' So, charmed life you guys have given me, I'm very lucky.”

Aw, can you imagine Orton actually thanking Rhodes for “giving him a call” when there's almost no possible way such a call happened unless it came after one from Paul “Triple H” Levesque? Either way, it's clear after overcoming a few hardships like a torn pec and a loss at WrestleMania 39, Rhodes is incredibly grateful to have landed where he did in the position he's in today.