3-time WWE IC Champion finally undergoes surgery; no timeline on return

A former WWE champion currently employed in AEW has undergone a successful surgical procedure for his knees. It is unclear when the star in question, Dustin Rhodes, will be able to return to active competition.

The Natural got his first taste of singles gold in AEW at All In: Texas last month, where he won an intense four-way match for the vacant TNT Title. Dustin mounted his first defense of the championship against Lee Moriarty, but unfortunately succumbed to his second challenger, Kyle Fletcher, who unseated Rhodes after defeating him in a brutal Chicago Street Fight on Collision at the end of July.

After their match, The Protostar viciously assaulted Dustin with a steel chair, shortly after which the veteran revealed he would have to get replacement surgery for both of his knees. Earlier this month, Rhodes announced he would go under the knife on August 21. Now, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion has taken to X/Twitter to share an update on his health seemingly following on the heels of his procedure, sharing clips of himself trying to raise one of his knees.

"LFG [fire emojis] Holy s***!!!" Rhodes captioned his post.

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Check out Dustin's tweet HERE.

Considering it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a year to recover from knee replacement surgeries, Dustin probably won't be back in the ring for a while.

WWE legend Dustin Rhodes on his post-surgery goals

Dustin Rhodes is known for regularly interacting with his supporters on social media. When a fan on X/Twitter recently asked The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust if he planned to retire after his surgical procedure this month, the WWE and AEW legend responded by asserting that he would return to action after completing his recovery.

"Nope! Its b***s to the walls once ready. Can't keep the eldest Rhodes down. Looking forward to filming my recovery with @coachjimmyhouse! First month will be the worst. Im here for it, because the last of his kind still got plenty to prove to myself and YALL," wrote Dustin.

Check out Dustin's tweet HERE.

Rhodes signed a new, multi-year deal with AEW at the end of last year.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee