WWE star “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes appeared on Last Meals to discuss various topics, including the influences of his father, Dusty Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes said, “Well, he loved Billy Graham. Not the wrestler Billy Graham. Pastor Billy Graham. He loved Martin Luther King Jr. He grew up in the Southern Baptist church. The church he went to majority was all Black. And Thunderbolt Patterson, a famous, famous wrestler who — later in life, I think they’ve seen how great he was and what a [trendsetter] — Dad stole a great deal from Thunderbolt, stole a great deal from Bob Dylan. Michael Hayes is very similar. They’d find these things that they liked and weave them into the promo.”
On his favorite Dusty Rhodes promo:
“I can tell you that a lot of people always want to quote ‘Hard Times.’ And I just — ‘Hard Times’ to me was cool, but I’d actually seen it before. Because he cut a similar one on Oie Anderson in the Georgia Championship Wrestling situation pre — again, they were playing without cable at the time. And then when cable becomes a thing, and when these things start to last forever — like our Last Meal here, this lasts forever. This lasts forever. No pressure, right? They were doing stuff that didn’t last forever, so they could get away with rehashing, revisiting. But my favorite promo he ever did was with my brother Dustin. ‘The view never changes,’ talking about neglecting Dustin and wanting to be his partner. And I like that because our family, for better or for worse, probably — who knows? Our family has lived out in front of them. As much as it’s a performance in WWE is however you want to look at it, the character Cody Rhodes is pretty real. You know, I think the main difference is Runnels and Rhodes, you know? Like there’s not [much difference]. And to be able to do that promo with my brother and share that moment was kind of the only way he could apologize and tell him he loved him. So, that one stands out to me a lot.”
On Dusty Rhodes’ influence as a promo coach:
“So much of his promo work was really, really special. And I’m going to go ahead and get on a high horse here about the old man and his promos. This is going to get me in trouble, but let’s do it… If you’re going to teach people how to do an interview in modern wrestling, you have to have done one yourself. And I am so grateful that he was the promo coach there at NXT near the end, because his legacy goes on. The last chapter continues, right? Like, so many wrestlers don’t get a good proper last chapter. I wish Hulk Hogan had more a proper last chapter. They don’t get that last chapter where they give back. And he had a great last chapter. So I’m glad whether it was Charlotte Flair or Corey Graves, or Becky Lynch or Seth Rollins, I’m glad that they all have those notes still. And I wonder what will happen — this is me getting real boomerred up here — I wonder what will happen when they’re gone. You know, who’s going to teach us this stuff?”
On the rule against Dusty Rhodes AI in WWE:
“Also, Dusty — there’s a rule at WWE, no AI. We’re never doing an AI voice of Dusty. And here’s the backup. If we need to fill in a couple blanks, Bruce Pritchard will just do it. Bruce Pritchard, or I’ll do it. That’s my promise. That’s my PSA. No AI Dusty.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
