Veteran wrestler Dustin Rhodes has revealed that he’s heading into double knee replacement surgery later this month. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the 56-year-old star shared that both of his knees are “destroyed” and that he’ll be undergoing the procedure on August 21st.
“They can’t actually fix the damage, so we are getting two knee replacements,” Rhodes wrote. “Damn! #KeepSteppin … By the way… this is NOT THE END.”
Rhodes had recently mentioned needing “major” surgery, and now the specifics are confirmed. According to Fightful, he is expected to be out of action for the remainder of 2025.
The announcement comes just days after Rhodes dropped the TNT Championship to Kyle Fletcher on AEW Collision, where Fletcher launched a post-match assault on Rhodes. That loss capped a brief but emotional title run for Rhodes, who captured the belt at AEW All In: Texas in July.
With his surgery now scheduled and recovery time looming, serious questions are being raised about the status of the titles Rhodes still holds in Ring of Honor. He’s currently one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions alongside Sammy Guevara and also holds the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles with Ross and Marshall Von Erich.
ROH has yet to comment on what will happen with either set of championships. Their next major event, Supercard of Honor, is set for August 23 at the legendary 2300 Arena in Philadelphia—just two days after Rhodes goes under the knife.
While the road to recovery won’t be short, Rhodes made it clear that this isn’t the end of his in-ring journey. Given his decades-long resilience and enduring fan support, it’s hard to count out The Natural.
