Dustin Rhodes delivers devastating update on his injury; requires major surgery

It's been a rollercoaster month for Dustin Rhodes, who won the TNT Championship at All In: Texas and then suffered a devastating injury just a couple of weeks later. Now, The Natural has delivered even more bad news.

Fans already knew that Dustin had injured his leg and would require "invasive surgery," but the situation has turned out to be worse than anyone anticipated. In a heartbreaking update today on X/Twitter, the 56-year-old announced that both of his knees would have to be replaced:

"Knees are both destroyed. I have to go under the knife August 21st. They can't actually fix the damage so we are getting 2 knee Replacements. Damn! #KeepSteppin By the way.......This Is NOT THE END," he wrote.

Rhodes lost his TNT Championship to Kyle Fletcher on the July 31 episode of AEW Collision, and he's blamed the injury (in storyline) on The Protostar. He was also the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champion (alongside Sammy Guevara) and ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champion (with The Von Erichs). Whether Tony Khan strips him of those titles remains to be seen.

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AEW wishes Dustin Rhodes well as he prepares for surgery

Dustin Rhodes is in the twilight of his career, and he's already planned for his retirement. However, the 56-year-old wasn't going to hang up his boots without a final, epic run.

Unfortunately, his injury has derailed those plans, and The Natural could be out of action for a long time to come. He's had plenty of support from fans, though, and AEW itself also wished him well as he recovers:

"We couldn't be more proud of you, @DustinRhodes. Get well soon!" the company wrote on X/Twitter.

Rhodes is also an important figure backstage, and his experience and expertise will be difficult for Tony Khan to replace. Only time will tell if Dustin Rhodes is able to make a successful comeback.