WWE veteran currently signed to Tony Khan's AEW hints at in-ring retirement
Former WWE Superstar Dustin Rhodes recently hinted at a possible retirement from in-ring competition in Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling.
Rhodes kicked off his wrestling career in the late 80s and joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He made his debut in WWE in 1990 and competed in tag team matches with his father Dusty Rhodes. A few years later, Dustin re-signed with WWE under the villainous Goldust gimmick, donning a gold pantsuit, a blonde wig and black and gold face paint.
Dustin Rhodes joined Tony Khan's promotion in 2019 where he feuded with his real-life brother Cody Rhodes. Dustin and Cody Rhodes went on to form 'The Natural Nightmares' stable featuring MJF, Billy Gunn and Brandi Rhodes, amongst others. While he usually competes on AEW's weekly shows and pay-per-views, the 53 year old feels it's time to hang up his wrestling boots.
At the recent Terrificon 2022, Rhodes highlighted coaching comes naturally to him and wishes to impart his in-ring knowledge to future talent.
"Right now, I think my head is at passing it on. I have done just about everything," said Rhodes. "Whatever I can contribute this year last, I'll do my best, but coaching is really a lot of fun to me. I know it's not for everybody but for some reason it just clicked and it's my next step. I'm really good at it. I'm very patient with it. I've noticed, it's like, I'm not a patient person and I'm very patient teaching. I love it. So, if I can pass on some knowledge that has done me well in the years, that's the payoff. It comes full circle like that." [H/T Wrestling Inc]
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Tony Khan dismissed speculation on AEW taking up two-day pay-per-view module
Over the past few years, AEW's competitor brand has taken to hosting two-day events. During a Q&A session at Terrificon 2022 Dustin Rhodes declared Tony Khan's promotion might take up after WWE's module.
In an interaction with Busted Open Radio the AEW President recalled how he became aware of a report citing that they were following in WWE's footsteps. Khan added that he was taken aback by Dustin's claims as there were no internal discussions on the matter.
"I love Dustin so much and I was surprised that he said it because it's not something we seriously internally discussed. At most, at times, I like looking at other business models, at most I've said, 'that's an interesting business model,' but far from saying, 'That's how I'm taking our stuff' or 'that's what I'm going to do.' I'm definitely not doing that. Even if I was, and I'm not, I probably wouldn't want somebody to break that news at a panel. I can honestly say, that's not what we're doing anyway." stated Tony Khan [H/T Fightful]
Two-Day AEW ppvs not happening.
“I saw a report yesterday that we were talking about doing two-day ppvs. I was surprised that he [Dustin] said it because it’s not something we really internally seriously discussed. I’m definitely not doing that.”
- Tony Khan
(Busted Open Radio)
The Tony Khan-led promotion is gearing up for their All Out pay-per-view, which is scheduled to take place in September. Despite his return to Dynamite this week, CM Punk's foot injury is still prevalent and continues to undergo rehab for his condition. He confronted Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, sparking fire to their feud for their inevitable clash down the line.
Additionally, the inaugural AEW Trios World Tag Team Champions will also be crowned at the upcoming event.