Veteran pro wrestler Dustin Rhodes will be All Elite for the time being.
Rhodes stated in a December 2022 interview that his AEW contract would expire at the end of July 2023, sparking speculation that Rhodes might join brother Cody Rhodes in WWE.
Rhodes said, “I made a decision that at the end of July, my contract is up, and I’m going to be done with in-ring, or at least, tone it way, way down. I don’t know if that’s going to be it because they say when we’re retiring, they always come back and you never say never, but that’s what I’m looking for is an end date for my in-ring wrestling career and that will be 35, almost 36 years in the business, and I think that’s a good round number. There’s nothing that I haven’t done, good or bad, that I regret in the business. I love everything that I’ve done. The bad things have always come to me and taught me lessons, and I’ve become a better man for those. I want to get out while I can still walk, but still teach the kids, still coach hopefully, if God willing, I’m allowed to do that here or whatever, and occasionally make an on-screen appearance, I don’t know, but I just don’t want to embarrass myself is the main thing.”
According to reports, Rhodes will not be a free agent at the end of the month.
According to a new Fightful Select report, Rhodes has plenty of time left on his current AEW contract, which is set to expire in September 2024.
There has been no word on whether Rhodes received a contract extension or what caused the dates to shift.
In the same December 2022 interview, Rhodes stated that he intended to retire from ring action once his AEW contract expired. You can read those comments by clicking here.
Rhodes debuted at AEW Double Or Nothing 2019, losing to his brother after leaving WWE in March 2019 following a six-year run. In August 2019, it was announced that Rhodes had signed a multi-year contract with AEW to work as a wrestler and coach. Rhodes continues to work singles matches and has recently teamed up with Keith Lee. On the July 14 Rampage episode, they defeated Angelo Parker and Matt Menard.
