Dustin Rhodes Drops Hint at Potential In-Ring Retirement

Dustin Rhodes is considered a proper veteran in professional wrestling, after wrestling in the business for many decades now. Rhodes has seen the rise and fall of many companies and continued to push on no matter what. That being said, it appears that Rhodes hinted at retiring from the ring recently.

Dustin Rhodes made his pro wrestling debut on September 13th 1988 for the Tampa-based Championship Wrestling From Florida promotion. He eventually went to WWE and came to be known as Goldust, breaking barriers and pushing the envelope in many ways.

On December 3rd 2022, Dustin Rhodes made the announcement that 2023 would be his final year as an active in-ring competitor. This is because Rhodes wants to retire while he can still walk.

While speaking on The Wrestling Perspective podcast, Dustin Rhodes talked about retiring from the squared circle. Rhodes stated that he feels his knees are getting bad, believing that it’s an indication he has to retire.

“I have literally wrestled everybody. I’ve done so many great things. The one person I wish I could have worked with and did not get a chance was Randy Savage. When you are 35 years in the business and you’re working pretty steadily on television for so long, your body takes a toll. I’ve had a lot of surgeries. My knees are getting bad. It may be me saying, ‘Hey man, maybe enough’s enough’, but to answer you, honestly, I don’t know. Could I sign another contract at the end of this term here with Tony and go on and maybe have less matches, you know, a few and far between, some special things that come along down the pike?

Yes. Could I do it 365 days anymore? No, I couldn’t, but we don’t do that anymore. It’s changed dramatically over the years. It’s not like the old days in WWWF when we’re on the road 60 days in a row and then you come home for three and you’re back at for 30. It was a crazy time schedule back then. It’s a lot more time home now. I still love the business, so it hasn’t left me yet, so I can’t really say, ‘Hey man, this might be it.’ I have been thinking about it, but I want to see what the next step is and we’re just not there yet. I’m still having fun. Every match that I have now that Tony puts me in, I’m like, man, my knees are hurting right now. Here’s the one thing that I don’t want to happen. The older I get, being 53, if I go out there and stumble and they see it, then they’re going to call for my retirement and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

We will have to wait and see whether The Natural will end up retiring after this year. If Dustin Rhodes does retire, he will leave behind a legacy that he can look back on and be proud of. It remains to be seen what his final match will be in the end.

What’s your view on Dustin Rhodes? Do you think he had a Hall Of Fame-worthy career? Let us know in the comments!