Cody Rhodes still unsigned, ‘up in the air’ if he lands in AEW or WWE

Former AEW TNT Champion and executive vice president Cody Rhodes is still a free agent and there is increased speculation that he might not re-sign with the company he helped found.

Dave Meltzer discussed the developments on the most recent Wrestling Observer Radio.

Rhodes’ deal expired at the end of December and he even noted that he is working without a deal in a promo leading up to his TNT title unification bout with Sammy Guevara, quipping the match contract was not the contract he was expecting to receive in the mail.

His loss to Guevara in that January 26th match has been his only in-ring action this year. 

Meltzer said there has been lots of talk about Rhodes in both WWE and AEW locker rooms about his status. When the initial story first broke, Meltzer said, at best, it would be a minimal possibility Rhodes wouldn’t re-sign.

“I would not say that now,” he said, adding that “a lot of people think it’s up in the air.”

Meltzer said Rhodes returning to the company was “definitely something talked about…in certain circles about the potential of something happening.”

He didn’t delve into what the barriers are between the 36-year-old and AEW’s Tony Khan on getting a deal done. He is currently on two other shows on WarnerMedia-owned properties (Go Big Show and Rhodes to the Top) and both his wife, Brandi, and brother, Dustin, are also employed by AEW.

Rhodes was granted his request for a release by WWE in May 2016. He re-invented himself on the indies and then Ring of Honor, Impact and New Japan Pro Wrestling before founding AEW with Khan, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and others.