It’s been almost one full year since AEW fans last saw “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes in action as the former AEW TNT Champion had to undergo double knee replacement surgery in the fall of 2025. Rhodes last wrestled on the July 31, 2025 episode of “AEW Collision” where he dropped the TNT Championship to Kyle Fletcher in a Chicago Street Fight that saw Rhodes being stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver, a move that was used to write him off of television.
However, Rhodes is nearing a return and is itching to get back in the ring, and during a special appearance on Tony Schiavone’s “What Happened When?” podcast, Rhodes was asked if he would be back in AEW by the end of 2026, and he gave a very excited response. “Yeah, hopefully very soon…It’s driving me crazy right now. Idle hands man, I need to be doing something, even if it’s just a little bit. Even if it’s just a little but you know? Because it’s still unknown for me. The knees, I don’t know, are they going to hold up?”
When Rhodes does return to AEW, he will likely be on the road to retirement, which is something he has thought about in recent years. With that said, when he was asked about what he has planned for his retirement, Rhodes said that he knows what he wants to look like, but the rest is still a secret. “I’m keeping it really close to the vest,” Rhodes said. “I think Tony [Khan] knows, I’ve said it to him a couple of times, and the other guy knows. I kind of want to go out with no paint on this one, and just like a throwback to ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes in the early 90s. Not in that gear though, in my body suit because, let’s face it, I’m 57. Even though I am high school weight right now, which is impressive because I’ve worked my butt off, still, nobody wants to see that.”
Please credit “What Happened When?” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.