Former TNT Champion Cody Rhodes has seemingly confirmed recent rumours that he is no longer under contract with All Elite Wrestling.
Rhodes has recently been subject of reports in the wrestling media, with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp originally reporting that his deal with AEW was up and he is currently working as a free agent.
At Beach Break on Wednesday night, Rhodes competed in an Undisputed TNT Championship ladder match with interim TNT Champion and the man Rhodes had defeated for the title, Sammy Guevara. At the end of the blockbuster bout, it was The Spanish God that was able to grab the title belts to reclaim his crown.
Following the match, The American Nightmare spoke backstage in a segment that has aired on AEW’s YouTube channel. During his interview, Cody Rhodes discussed his loss and then confirmed that he is in fact currently a free agent:
“Wrestling is about the ones who win. I oughta know, I lost for eight years. I really oughta know. Something as silly as a wrestling match isn’t silly at all to me. The winner’s purse isn’t remotely fictional to me. The winners make more than the losers. The winners sit in first class and wear the TNT Championship.”
“I feel at least positive that it’s on someone like Sammy Guevara. It’s on someone who I helped bring here, recruited, wrestled in the very first match in Dynamite history. Here we are on TBS, we’ve only grown, our audience has grown, the ratings have grown.”
“It’s paradise, right? There are so many elephants in the room. This is an insane week in wrestling. People think that the Sean Ross story is BS, it’s not. I’m working here without a contract. I’m not even on payroll anymore. I’m working here on a handshake deal. That is 100% legitimate, I swear on Pharaoh’s life.”
Rhodes continued by commenting on what the TNT Title means to him and says he’ll take some time to think about his next steps:
“I can tell you this, I have never felt more at home than under those lights, wrestling for the TNT Title, a title that will never ever be secondary because of matches like that. Old school promoters will tell you that a title can make the man or the man can make the title. At this point, we don’t know which is which.”
“I’m very proud of Sammy Guevara. I absolutely wish that I could go home to my family and say, ‘TNT Champ once again,’ a belt that was synonymous with my name doesn’t look like it’ll be just about me. Brodie (Lee), Miro, Darby (Allin), Sammy, myself.”
“I’m slow when it comes to rematches, but maybe I won’t be so slow on getting my rematch on this one. For now, I’m going to take a beat, get with Arn (Anderson), and think about it. An insane week where I have heard the most wonderful crazy things from all walks of the wrestling world about what it is that I do next. Like I said, I’ve never felt more at home than wrestling for that title in front of a crowd like that. Thank you.”