Dustin Rhodes gives update on AEW return and future
Dustin Rhodes is close to making his return from double knee surgery.
The 56-year-old Rhodes has been aiming to return this month after undergoing double knee surgery in summer 2025. That timeline is still on track, with Rhodes telling Fox News Digital that he should be back in AEW in the next two to three weeks. Rhodes spoke with the outlet on Thursday after his mastiff Beast won an award at Crufts dog show in the United Kingdom.
“I just had double knee replacements. So, they’re brand-new knees. They’re feeling pretty good. It’s a little tired today from all the walking – this is such a huge venue [for the dog show],” Rhodes said. “But probably two weeks, three weeks I’ll be back – TBS, TNT, HBO Max.”
Rhodes is under a long-term contract with AEW that will take him past the end of his in-ring career. He already helps out behind the scenes and told Fox News Digital that he will continue to do that after he retires within the next couple of years.
“I think it’s the fact that we’re just not all entertainment,” Rhodes said about AEW. “We are about wrestling, about putting on the best matches that we possibly can. It’s the alternative to WWE. I was with WWE for 24 years, and I’ve been with AEW for seven now, going on eight. I’m gonna finish here and retire in the next couple of years. And then there’s still work behind the scenes as a producer.
“I love it. It’s great. My boss, Tony Khan, and Shad Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and [Fulham] Football Club over here, we’re doing amazing. We’re growing year by year. It’s where the best wrestle. We do have entertainment segments but the majority of it is just all wrestling. That’s what’s different than the WWE product.”
Rhodes recently tweeted that he has no interest in returning to WWE and feels that his Goldust character ran its course.
Before he was forced out of action, Rhodes was competing in both AEW and ROH. He had reigns with the AEW TNT Championship, ROH Tag Team Championship, and ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.