As the AEW Galaxy continues to tick along, adding new members to the company seemingly on a monthly basis – the latest of which is none other than Renee Paquette – some AEW OGs have started to see their contracted time with Tony Khan's company come to an end, with Jack Evans, Joey Janella, and Marko Stunt all watching their contract expire. While most of these stars weren't exactly fixtures of the company's televised product when they were let go, it still signified a veritable changing of the guard that was inevitable but noteworthy nonetheless.

At 53, Dustin Rhodes has more wrestling matches in his rearview mirror than ahead of him; he's wrestled in WWE, WCW, TNA, NWA, and now AEW, has opened his own wrestling school, and is still good for a compelling match from time to time, even if they come about thrice yearly at this point.

So, with his future up in the air and his contract status unknown, Rhodes took to Twitter to express some thoughts on his future.

“Man, old age has caught up to me guys,” Rhodes wrote. “As much as I push myself beyond my limits, I can honestly say, I am doing some heavy thinking about the next step. We all think we can go forever with new batteries, but TIME comes for all of us. Kinda scared tbh.”

Could that next step be in WWE, the company his brother, Cody Rhodes, signed with earlier this year? Well, based on his comments on Cody's defection, it's clear Rhodes is far from anti-WWE at this stage in the game.

Dustin Rhodes supported Cody's decision to return to WWE.

When Cody left AEW to return to WWE, it was an inflection point in professional wrestling history not too dissimilar from when the younger Rhodes brother took his show on the road for an independent wrestling tour that led to the launch of AEW. Was Dustin upset to see his brother go? Most definitely, but he was fully supportive of the decision, as he detailed to Renee Paquette on Oral Sessions, as transcribed by Fightful.

“I knew dad always wanted us to be happy and he [Dusty Rhodes] would have his suggestions like that and try to lead us in the right way,” said Dustin. “But ultimately, these are our decisions, right? Money is money, and dad would always say, ‘Take the money.' He always said, ‘Take the money,' and I know, just me watching it [Cody’s first promo after WWE WrestleMania 38] and seeing dad up there on the screen and talking about him and Cody’s very passionate about his promos, about everything single word that he’s gonna say which is very important, right? Especially for that first one, which was very important. You’re making a huge impact on a lot of people. It's the first time you’ve been back in years, he did it, and I know dad would be happy. He’s sitting in the rafters. That’s where I pictured him when me and Cody wrestled at Double or Nothing, right?”

Granted, just because Rhodes was happy to see his half-brother return to WWE doesn't mean he necessarily wants that life for himself but hey, considering how some ex-WWE guys talk about the promotion – Swerve Strickland, anyone? –  it sure sounds like Rhodes is not a “never WWE guy” by any means.

Dustin Rhodes could bring Goldust full circle in his wrestling finale.

Speaking with Thunder Rosa on her YouTube channel about his second run in WWE, Rhodes noted that he wasn't initially the biggest fan of the Goldust character in WWE but found a way to make it his own and embrace the challenge, as transcribed by Wrestling Inc. 

“A lot of people think that could be a rib,” Rhodes told Thunder Rosa on her Taco Vlog. “Like Dad [Dusty Rhodes] in the polka dots was a rib but he got it over. He got it over because he's Dusty Rhodes, ‘The American Dream'. I didn't think of it that way back then because I was young and I just wanted to do something other than try to fill my dad's shoes. I wanted – I saw this as an opportunity.

“Had no idea what any of the things he [Vince McMahon] was telling me meant, like being androgynous and things like that, until I hung up the phone and would look in the dictionary and figured out. What did I just sign up for, right?” Rhodes continued. “But after all that, I said, ‘You know what? Let's give it a try.' It was – He was 110% behind the character and hands-on and gave me a lot of rope when everybody else was – like The Kliq and things – trying to get people fired and whatnot. Didn't matter, he was going with me. So he let me take my time and find the character, and it took about seven months.”

Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated back in 2019, Rhodes shared a similar sentiment and explained that, after spending 24 years playing the character, his efforts made him a perennial fan favorite.

“I’ve kept evolving the character,” said Rhodes. “At first you hated Goldust with a passion, then you laughed with him. You loved him, you hated him again, and 24 years later, I can try to be the meanest, dirtiest heel in the business, but people are still going to love me. And I love them, too.

“The landscape for professional wrestling has changed, and there are very few that can go out there and get good heat anymore. And it would be no good for me to try that, as people have grown to accept and love Goldust.”

If Rhodes does return to the WWE Universe as Goldust, it's clear it would be as a fond farewell tour to both the character and the performer, not a gimmick to make the fans last.