WWE's Cody Rhodes Says Retirement Is Coming 'Sooner Than Later'

Sting's retirement seemed to open the flood gates for many other wrestlers to follow in his footsteps and leave the ring for the last time. In the last year, fans saw John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and AJ Styles retire, while Adam Copeland recently announced that he's gearing up to end his career by the close of 2027.

For the likes of Cody Rhodes, retirement might seem too soon considering he's only been back in WWE for four years, but at 41, even "The American Nightmare" knows he's approaching the end. "I'll say it will probably happen sooner than later, and I'm not giving any type of spoiler. Time goes by, time goes by like this [snaps his fingers]," Rhodes said during an interview with "WrestleTalk." "When my daughter is 11 years old, I'm not going to be falling down for a living anymore."

The question was originally asked in context of Cena's retirement, which Rhodes claims taught him a lot in how it was executed and Cena's attitude towards it. "I think one of the things that I really enjoyed about how John did it is the finality he brought to it," he stated. "'I have given you everything, this is all I have, anything else wouldn't be right.' And when John says he will never wrestle again, he really means it."

Rhodes also stated that he hopes to be brave enough to take a risk on a rising star to put over on his way out. Looking at the history of the industry, Rhodes believes one of the most impactful things that can happen is when a younger star takes the final steps to becoming the next "face" of a company, and he'd like to go out making that happen.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "WrestleTalk" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.