Dustin Rhodes’ TNT Championship win at AEW All In 2025 was a bittersweet one because it got here as the results of Adam Cole’s health concerns and his subsequent title relinquishment. Based on Rhodes himself, he even initially tried convincing AEW President Tony Khan to award the vacant championship to another person that night.
“That day was, I am unable to explain it,” Rhodes said on “What Happened When.” “It was not expected, and resulting from the circumstances, I understood. With the best way they were constructing Kyle Fletcher, who’s a machine, just an unbelievable talent, I attempted to speak Tony out of it and he said no. I used to be like ‘Okay.’ I had a bit of run with it. I only had one successful match with [Lee] Moriarty, after which the following one was Kyle Fletcher. Right before, I’m considering to myself, let’s make it a Street Fight. So I went in and asked Tony, he said, ‘Yeah, we’ll make it a Street Fight.’ So we cut the promo and got it, did the business for the next week. Went in, had an excellent plan. My knees nearly gave out.”
As Rhodes alluded to, original plans called for Cole to defend the TNT Championship against Kyle Fletcher at All In. Because of Cole’s unlucky status, they then modified to a four-way match – involving Fletcher, Rhodes, Daniel Garcia, and Sammy Guevara — to crown a brand new champion. Rhodes later picked up the win by reversing Garcia’s Dragon Tamer right into a small package for a 3 count.
Rhodes’ reign as TNT Champion didn’t last long as Fletcher unseated him three weeks later in a bloody Street Fight on “AEW Collision.” Afterward, Rhodes revealed that he, like Cole, can be out of motion for an prolonged time frame, in his case resulting from double knee alternative surgery.
Should you use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “What Happened When” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.