Cody Rhodes is currently out of action with a torn pectoral muscle, but recent updates spell good news for his return to the ring. Recent reports have stated that Rhodes is back to “normal” and is operating in his “real life,” but upper body weight training remains “extremely light.” While he’s not yet 100 percent, the American Nightmare is said to be “a little ahead of schedule” in his recovery process. This has made the highly-speculated Royal Rumble return all the more likely, and has even opened up conversation about a comeback before WWE’s signature January premium live event.
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Regardless of what the future holds, Rhodes continues to take his recovery one day at a time. That potential Rumble return is massive motivation in and of itself, but Rhodes has another inspiring item that keeps him focused. Taking to Instagram, Rhodes shared that he keeps an ALL IN press pass in his truck to remind him of what’s possible.
“Hanging in my truck,” Rhodes wrote. “Everyday on the way to PT (physical therapy) a nice little reminder to shoot for the furthest goals and to dream bigger everyday.”
Before there was All Elite Wrestling, there was ALL IN. This September 2018 pay-per-view has gone down as one of the most crucial events in professional wrestling history thanks to what it did for the industry. Rhodes, provoked by a tweet that dismissed the idea of his lot of peers drawing a 10,000 seat arena “anytime soon,” pushed for a self-funded pay-per-view that would prove that claim to be false. Bringing in over 11,000 strong to the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, ALL IN brought together stars from Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, and more for three hours of action. AEW’s first event, AEW Double or Nothing 2019, is largely considered to be the spiritual successor of ALL IN.
Beyond promoting the event, Rhodes himself was a competitor, wrestling Nick Aldis for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title. Aldis also looks back on that match fondly, telling ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley that he felt that history had its eyes on himself and Rhodes in that bout.
“That minute in Chicago with Cody when the bell rang,” Aldis said. “That one minute where it was just sort of like, ‘All right, this is it.’ There’s very few opportunities that I’ve had, having never had an opportunity with WWE, that I could really genuinely feel like all the eyes of the wrestling world are on me and this match right now. But I did feel that way in Chicago.”
Rhodes is expected to return to WWE in the next couple of months.
