Cody Rhodes May Return Earlier Than Expected

Though Cody Rhodes was initially thought to be out for nine months, he’s reportedly ahead of schedule and may be back in time for January!

Cody Rhodes may be back in WWE any month now.

This comes via Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as he writes that ‘The American Nightmare’ is seemingly ahead of his recovery schedule. Though an exact return date wasn’t given, it’s thought that either of WWE’s January premium live events – Day 1 or the Royal Rumble – could be the time and place for Rhodes’ grand comeback:

“[Cody] Rhodes appears to be a little ahead of schedule in healing. He’s working with DDP. Things are normal for him in real life but obviously any upper body weights he can use are extremely light. There’s no firm date for a return this early, and even when there is, I would expect it’ll be kept quiet for a surprise pop. Originally the idea of [Royal] Rumble looked good. Perhaps Day 1 since it’s in Atlanta and he grew up and still lives there.”

Cody Rhodes hasn’t appeared for WWE since the 6 June broadcast of Monday Night Raw, where he was written off programming following an assault courtesy of Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. This came just 24 hours removed from Rhodes’ remarkable performance inside Hell in a Cell while wrestling with a torn pectoral tendon.

Returning to the sports entertainment behemoth on night one of WrestleMania 38, it marked the first WWE appearance for Cody in just under six years. He had been granted his release in May 2016, subsequently going on to work for NJPW, ROH, and IMPACT, in addition to helping found All Elite Wrestling.

His and wife Brandi’s AEW departure was formally confirmed on 15 February in a social media post, thanking the Rhodes’ for their commitment to the Tony Khan-helmed promotion for the past three years.