It’s been an award-winning week for Cody Rhodes, as he was named ESPN’s Male Wrestler Of The Year, on top of WWE fans voting his WrestleMania match against Roman Reigns the best bout of 2023. At the moment, he’s also embroiled in one of WWE’s more high-profile feuds as he fends off Shinsuke Nakamura on Monday Night Raw. The two men also faced off in a Bull Rope Match at Madison Square Garden last night, which Rhodes won. As the clock ticks down to 2024, it would seem the former AEW EVP has the proverbial wind at his back.
Fightful reports that WWE is looking to immediately re-sign Rhodes to a new contract. They note that The Wrestling Observer recently reported that Rhodes signed a new deal in October, but their sources close to Rhodes indicate that while a deal has been agreed to in principle, it has not yet been signed. It was also stated that multiple WWE talents they spoke with were under the impression Rhodes had re-signed, or would be re-signing shortly.
Now that WWE has merged with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings, more talents have begun to re-sign with the sports entertainment juggernaut. Charlotte Flair reportedly re-signed a multi-year deal with WWE recently that saw her getting a sizeable increase in pay, on top of other amenities, like a tour bus. The Mysterios, Dominik, and Rey, have also re-signed with WWE. Dominik is believed to have re-signed for five years, while Haus of Wrestling has confirmed Mysterio’s new deal is only for three years.
WWE is also in recruiting mode once again, with names like CM Punk, Jade Cargill, and Lexis King signing on the dotted line. All three are former AEW stars who are trying to find new life in the confines of WWE. Punk, obviously, has the most history with the promotion and surprised nearly everyone when he came back at WWE Survivor Series. Cargill has been presented as nothing less than a blockbuster addition to their roster, making appearances at various WWE events but not yet joining a brand. King, the former Brian Pillman Jr., had a bit of a rough start in WWE NXT but has begun to find his footing on the other side of his program with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.