Cody Rhodes WWE Absence & Return Date Update

Published: Aug 29, 2025 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Aug 29, 2025 by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

Cody Rhodes WWE Absence & Return Date Update

An update has emerged on the absence of WWE Champion Cody Rhodes as he films the upcoming Street Fighter movie.

Rhodes was recently spotted in Australia, ahead of filming for the 2026 live-action cinematic release, in which he portrays Guile.

With a previous report noting that Roman Reigns, who will be portraying Akuma, will likely be absent until filming wraps during the week of September 26, details have now emerged on when fans can expect Rhodes back in WWE.

Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it has been confirmed the previous report that Rhodes will likely not be absent as long Reigns.

According to Dave Meltzer, the Undisputed WWE Champion is expected to be done with filming by September 20.

Meltzer goes on to note that there’s some crossover with dates that Rhodes and Reigns will be shooting, but “not a lot”.

September 20 marks the date of WWE Wrestlepalooza, with John Cena set to headline the show in Indianapolis.

Ahead of that show announcement, it was reported that Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre was among two matches being considered as main events.

In a new update following this report, Brandi Rhodes and Cody Rhodes have welcomed their second child into the world.

Brandi took to Twitter to write:

Welcome to the world Leilani Ella Runnels. We are in love. Thank you God for answered prayers. Cody + Brandi + Libby + Lani = ❤️

Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena at SummerSlam on August 3 to become Undisputed WWE Champion.

At the time of writing, his last match to date saw him team with Cena against Drew McIntyre & Logan Paul on the following week’s SmackDown, with McIntyre attacking Rhodes in the closing moments of the show.