Cody Rhodes opens up about the legacy his father, Dusty Rhodes, left as a coach in WWE.
The American Nightmare spoke on this topic during a recent interview with The Associated Press, where he explained how jealous he used to become when certain talents would be referred to as, ‘Dusty’s Kids.’
When he passed away, ‘Dusty’s Kids’ was something that I heard a lot because his influence and legacy were being spread out. That was a statistic being touted. Bayley, Sasha (Banks), Becky (Lynch), Seth (Rollins), Roman, Sami (Zayn), Kevin (Owens), the core ones, were all doing better than I was. It wasn’t something I could complain about or throw a tantrum over because they were honoring him. It almost felt like they were honoring him more than I was. There’s jealousy and envy that comes with it.
Rhodes later adds that he would have loved to have taken a promo class taught by his father, a job he did in WWE up until his death in 2015.
I would have loved to have done a promo class or been around a ring with my father. I got a far different education from him than they did. But that’s why in these interviews, even on nights I don’t want to say his name or talk about him, you hear it nonetheless because his fingerprints are all over WrestleMania. Every one of those people I just named, for the most part, is doing something spectacular. You want to add yourself to that list, and you almost can’t function if you don’t. I feel like that’s slightly weaponized in a sense by Roman toward me. I wasn’t adjusted and ready for it. I’m ready for it now.
The 2023 Royal Rumble winner will be taking on Roman Reigns in the main event of this weekend’s WrestleMania 39 premium live event. He recently did an interview discussing how much pyro fans should expect for his Mania entrance. You can read about that here.