Don't expect a Cody Rhodes-Arn Anderson reunion in WWE

Cody Rhodes recently said he wouldn't mind having a "classic wrestling manager" with him during his reign atop WWE. Arn Anderson says his AEW contract has expired. But that doesn't mean the Enforcer will be appearing with the American Nightmare in WWE any time soon.

The context for Rhodes' comments is important. The Undisputed WWE Champion said that he felt a little jealous of Logan Paul during the build to King and Queen of the Ring in May, as Paul had an entourage with him and it was cool "to see him flanked by so many people."

While Rhodes has allied himself with most of WWE's major babyfaces over the last two years, there's no one walking to the ring with him on a regular basis. That's something he did have for big chunks of his time in AEW, where Anderson was often in his corner.

There's nothing that wrestling fans enjoy more in the 2020s than connecting the dots, so it was natural to assume that maybe Rhodes was hinting at having Anderson join him in a similar capacity in WWE. According to Anderson, however, it's not something they've discussed at the moment.

"Would I come back in the right situation for a short-term something with Cody?" Anderson said on Busted Open Radio (per Wrestling Observer). "If anybody out there thinks it’s a good idea let me know, I don’t know. That would be something because he and I have never had that conversation."

What Anderson said he prefers to focus on is helping his son establish himself as a more regular fixture in the business. Brock Anderson had a stint with AEW from 2021 to 2023 but hasn't wrestled anywhere over the last six months.

No one would suggest that seeing Rhodes and Anderson back together wouldn't warm the hearts of long-time wrestling fans, but the truth is that Rhodes doesn't need a manager. He's one of the best talkers in the business and thus doesn't need a mouthpiece. His current character is such that even when outnumbered, he's going to get his payback no matter how badly the odds seem stacked against him.

Of course, if Rhodes went to Paul "Triple H" Levesque tomorrow and said, "Hey, I'd love to work with Arn again if we can get him in here," WWE would certainly honor that request. Failing that, this appears to be the case of a random musing by one of wrestling's top stars and some coincidental contract timing. Nothing more than that.