Major hint dropped about Dustin Rhodes' AEW future after contract expiry

The AEW future of Dustin Rhodes is currently up in the air, as is his future with ROH, where he is a dual champion. The legendary veteran's contract expired, but Dustin has remained with Tony Khan. New information has revealed an apparent update on what the future might hold for Rhodes.

The Natural has been with All Elite Wrestling since 2019, joining as a talent and coach. Rhodes debuted with ROH this past July and currently holds Ring of Honor's World Tag Team Championship with Sammy Guevara and its World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with The Von Erichs. In addition to his work in AEW and ROH, the 36-year industry veteran owns The Rhodes Wrestling Academy in Liberty Hill, Texas, and the school hosts indie events as The Rhodes Wrestling Association.

Dustin's contract was set to expire at the end of September or the beginning of October, and his last match had been at the September 25 ROH TV tapings, until this past week. Thursday's Collision tapings saw Dustin and Sammy defeat TJ Crawford and Love Doug in a non-title bout. This could be a sign that Rhodes is sticking around, as the fact that his last match was in late September was seen as a sign that he might be on his way out. Rhodes and officials had been in contract negotiations, but nothing had changed as of around one week ago.

Dustin was one of three Texans brought to the All In 2025 announcement event back in August, along with Athena and Thunder Rosa, and he has helped the company promote its first-ever Texas pay-per-view ever since. All In developments continue to further speculation on Rhodes' future as just today he was announced for the AEW All In: Texas Kickoff Party. The party is scheduled for Wednesday, November 20, from 6-9 p.m. CT in Arlington. The event is free and open to the public.

The Kickoff Party will feature photo-ops with AEW and ROH stars, rare memorabilia displays, exclusive merchandise to buy, and special giveaways while the live Dynamite episode airs on the big screens. Fans in attendance will also have the first shots at purchasing All In 2025 tickets before they go on sale to the general public on December 9.

Rhodes is featured on promotional material for All In 2025 and for the Kickoff Party. He was specifically announced for the party, along with Guevara, Athena, Rosa, The Outrunners, Abadon, and Jeff Jarrett. All In: Texas will take place on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Dustin Rhodes praised for backstage AEW work

Dustin Rhodes joined All Elite Wrestling in its first year, 2019. The WWE Legend signed on to work as a talent and coach, bringing his decades of experience to the locker-room.

The Natural has been praised for his behind-the-scenes work with the AEW women's division. Fightful Select adds that Dustin has worked with the female talents for quite a while.

Rhodes has also worked with several male talents. It was just recently revealed how Dusty Rhodes' oldest son was working backstage with Swerve Strickland to help him with his matches, including during his run as AEW World Champion.