AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Star undergoes ACL and meniscus surgery, Rumor killer on Andrade's potential return to WWE, Cody Rhodes references top name

Welcome, readers, to the latest edition of the AEW News and Rumor Roundup. Today, we will look at the latest developments and stories pertaining to prominent All Elite Wrestling and WWE names like Cody Rhodes, Andrade, and more.

A lesser-known face from the Tony Khan-led company's early days recently underwent a major surgical procedure. Shocking reports regarding World Wrestling Entertainment supposedly trying to bring Andrade back into its fold have now been disputed.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes surprised fans recently by alluding to a top All Elite Wrestling veteran on SmackDown. Let us now dive deep and look at these stories, one by one.

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#1. AEW star Peter Avalon recently underwent surgery

Peter Avalon signed with All Elite Wrestling back in April 2019, first appearing on the inaugural edition of Fyter Fest before making his in-ring debut at Fight for the Fallen. Besides occasionally being featured on the company's television programs Dynamite and Rampage, the Nevada native primarily competed on the promotion's YouTube streaming shows, AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation.

"Pretty" Peter has been missing from All Elite Wrestling programming since being squashed by Satnam Singh on an episode of Rampage in May 2024. As a matter of fact, the star has seemingly not competed at all this year. Avalon recently took to social media to disclose that he had undergone surgery on his meniscus and ACL this past Tuesday.

It remains to be seen when the 36-year-old will be back in action.

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#2. Rumor killer on Andrade El Idolo's WWE return claims

Andrade has found himself at the center of a controversial contractual dispute following his WWE firing. Promptly after making his AEW return on the Sixth Anniversary edition of Dynamite, El Idolo disappeared from the company's programming.

Soon afterward, reports emerged claiming that this was due to the luchador supposedly violating the Stamford-based promotion's one-year non-compete clause.

More recently, rumors began making the rounds suggesting that WWE was trying to use Andrade's current contract situation as leverage to bring him back. The latest update from Fightful has clarified that the former NXT Champion has not been factored into any of the sports entertainment juggernaut's creative plans, although the company's sources declined to elaborate on the matter beyond that.

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#3. Cody Rhodes references Dustin Rhodes on WWE SmackDown

Before addressing the crowd on the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Cody Rhodes caught up with Jimmy Uso backstage. The Undisputed WWE Champion asked Big Jim about his ongoing issues with his brother Jey Uso, who eliminated Jimmy during this past Monday's World Heavyweight Championship contender's battle royal.

The conversation led Cody to bring up his own brother, AEW's Dustin Rhodes, albeit without naming the latter. The Natural has been missing from in-ring action since losing his TNT Championship to Kyle Fletcher at the end of July. The artist formerly known as Goldust is currently on the mend from double knee replacement surgery, which he underwent this past August.

A fan's screenshot of Cody Rhodes' talk with Jimmy Uso on SmackDown [Image source: The user's X/Twitter profile]

Dustin and Cody have fought each other and have also teamed up in both WWE and AEW.

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#4. Tama Tonga's tribute to former AEW champion Will Ospreay

This Friday on SmackDown, JC Mateo and Tama Tonga of MFT battled Rey Fenix and Shinsuke Nakamura in tag team competition. The closing stretch of the bout witnessed outside interference from both Solo Sikoa and Talla Tonga, with the latter incapacitating Fenix with a Chokeslam on the ring apron.

This opened up the door for Tama Tonga to deliver a running elbow on the masked luchador, which sealed the victory for MFT. The move was reminiscent of AEW star Will Ospreay's signature maneuver, the Hidden Blade, a fact that fans have pointed out on social media.

The former International Champion shared the ring with Tama numerous times during their shared tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

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Edited by Pratik Singh