411’s American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes Report

-I have been looking forward to this one. The last documentary that WWE did for Peacock that got this kind of hype was the one on Ric Flair. The intrigue to this one is how much they touch on All In and AEW. Cody has been quoted on mentioning he only asked for a few things that had to be included. This should be fun. Let’s get to it!

-Run Time: 1:58:34
-Narrator: Stephen Amell

-We start at WrestleMania 39 and Cody says it is the biggest thing anyone in his family has ever done. We then see Cody walking through a desert for the actual opening as talking heads mention his last name and significance of his father, Duty Rhodes. As he walks through the desert, we see artifacts from his past gimmicks: the mask, Stardust. He calls Stardust madness and he had to get out. He became the star of every other promotion and Vince McMahon flew to his house to get him to return to WWE. This is American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes!

-Cody says he grew up in God’s County: Marietta Georgia. We see baby pictures with Dusty Rhodes. His mom says he was an easy child and was very shy. Teil (his sister) says he always wanted to be like his fathter. This is a story about a son and his legendary hero: his father.

-Dusty Rhodes (from 2014) says he was a spokesman for the common man and DDP compares him to John Wayne meeting Elvis. “Wined and dined with Kings and Queens and I have slept in alleys and dined on pork and beans.” Cody says his first memory of his dad is also his first memory. It was his dad putting him on the mat at WrestleMania VI. He initially assumed his dad was a movie star and as he learned to watch, he was proud that was his dad. Dusty had a Hall of Fame career and won every Title except one: The WWF Title.

-MSG: 1977: Dusty Rhodes battles Superstar Billy Graham for the WWF Championship. Dusty wins the match and puts the belt on for a second and Cody shows the picture of his dad holding up the Title. The issue is Graham lost by count-out, so he is still the WWF Champion and that was the closest Dusty ever got.

-When Cody was eight years old he told his dad, “I didn’t know you were Champ like Hulk Hogan.” Dusty was upset, but didn’t let Cody know and explained how you couldn’t win a title by count-out. Cody tells us his first goal was to become WWF Champion one day for his dad.

-In 1995 Dusty Rhodes is inducted to the WCW Hall of Fame at Slamboree and a young Cody is there on stage to accept the trophy with his father. That was basically the end of Dusty’s in ring career outside of a few matches here and there.

-Later that year, Dustin Rhodes becomes Goldust. There are 10 years between Dustin and Cody. Dusty notes his goal was not to miss things with Cody and his daughter like may have happened with Dustin. Cody says his dad drove him to school everyday and put the decals on the teams football helmets. Cody says Dusty was the perfect dad and was there for everything.

-Cody gets into amateur wrestling as a kid and coaches would yell, “beat Dusty.” Cody remembers wanting to get off the mat and yell that his name was Cody. He admits he was awful early and made it his mission to get good. He would get up at 5 AM to work out at the gym and then get through school as best he could before practice. We meet his coach, Steve Day, who says Cody had one move and that was a double leg take down. His goal was to the Georgia State Championship as a Georgia. Xavier Woods says they were in rival high schools and his goal was to beat Cody in front of Dusty and then Dusty would decide to train him. That was his plan to get to WWE. Awesome. Dusty made sure to watch away from everyone as to not draw attention. Cody went 101-2 in his junior and senior years and won the Georgia State Championship both years. That was also the first time he was billed as Cody Rhodes, which was Cody’s decision according to Dusty. Cody says after his last match he wanted to throw his shoes away, but decided to take a bow as he knew this part of his life was over. His mom wanted him to go to college, but Cody told her it wasn’t for everyone.

-Cody’s goal was to learn acting and then he could plug himself into the world of pro-wrestling. Teil also wants to get into acting, but problem is the family is struggling. Dusty says the 70s and 80s were a boom time and the money was good, but then you get behind in taxes and they still want their money. He admits to over spending and how like a lot of athletes you always think it is never going to end. It got so bad that the power was turned off and Cody and Teil knew why, but didn’t want to let their dad know that they knew. Dusty tried to keep everything hidden, but Cody knew his dad was doing car commercials so they wouldn’t repo his truck. Dusty gave each kid $10,000 to go to Hollywood and Cody found out later that Dusty pawned his Rolex. Cody always wanted to get that Rolex back.

-Cody and Teil head to The Howard Fine Acting Studio. We meet Howard Fine and he tells us Cody started in the foundation course in 2004. He also took a course called emotional range which uses personal life experience. Cody says he loved the school and it was cathartic, but it was only 2-3 days a week. They didn’t have much money, and he didn’t like the California scene. He admits to be depressed out there, but he is okay with it as it made him realize what he missed. He needed to get back to pro-wrestling and drove 48 hours back home. He knew he had to tell his dad in person that he wanted to get in the business.

-Cody returns home to Georgia in 2006 and has the conversation with his dad over breakfast. He told his dad he was serious about it, and Dusty gave his blessing, but told him if he was going to do it, he was going to do it to be the best. Cody talks about the network of friends and acquaintances in the business.

-Bruce Prichard says that Dusty joined the WWE team in 2005 and wasn’t a writer, but was an idea guy. Cody was put in OVW as a developmental project. Miz says that Cody told all of them he never wrestled before and nobody believed him when they saw him work in the ring the first time. Cody says OVW was the greatest experience and says it was his college.

-2007: Dusty Rhodes is inducted in the WWF Hall of Fame with Cody and Dustin inducting him. Cody put pressure on himself for the induction speech. He drilled, practiced, and paced around his hotel room. He knew had to more than deliver for his father, and I remember watching this live and thinking this kid was great. His mom says he is a natural when it comes to speaking and Dusty says that Cody was impressive that night. Prichard sat next to Vince in the back and they both were impressed. Vince wanted to speak to Cody after and was impressed with the way he spoke about his dad. Cody felt he was screwed as he knew they were looking at it from the business side and he was going to get called up too soon. That’s what happened as he was brought up to RAW three months later.

-Cody talks about his debut and the John Deere green boots and tights he was wearing. He was less than 50 matches when he made his debut against Randy Orton. Randy says Cody was green through and through, but he could see he had fight and heart. “He was definitely his old man’s son.” Cody says his debut was good because he was presented as a rookie and it let him grow up in front of the WWE audience.

-Everyone talks about wrestling in the shadow of a legendary father. The comparisons were always there to Dusty. Charlotte speaks on the pressure and she would be one to know as well. HHH says the idea to create your own path and it is hard. No matter how great you are, “you’re just Dusty’s kid.” He felt Cody did a good job.

-Cody says you have to do everything in your power to get the attention off Dusty and on to what he was doing. Orton says it is harder sometimes to step away and do something different than what your father did. This leads to Legacy with Cody turning heel and joining a stable led by Randy Orton that also featured Ted Dibiase Jr. Cody says it was very different from what Dusty ever did and Randy says it is what Cody needed at the time. Randy was there to kick Cody in the ass when he needed it.

-2010 and we get behind the scene footage of them filming vignettes for Dashing Cody Rhodes. MANSCAPING CODY RHODES! Miz was a fan of the vignettes and says they made you want to punch Cody in the face. Kevin Owens says that made Cody come off a dick and that’s a good thing. The whole idea was he was to handsome to be hit in the face and then eats a 6-1-9 from Rey, right in the face. Cody says people still ask him if he really broke his nose. He doesn’t recall and just leaves it up to legend.

-Next up is the tortured soul that wears a mask to hide his “ugliness.” He called the doctor that made the mask for Richard Hamilton (Detroit Pistons) and created the character based of Christian Bale’s character in American Psycho. He had the gimmick of putting paper bags over the heads of ugly people in the crowd.

-WrestleMania 27: Atlanta! I was there! Cody got his first singles match at Mania in his home state and had a darn fine match with Rey Mysterio. Rey says it was a real fun match and it really was. Go check it out! Cody gets emotional as he recalls his dad taking a photo of him in the back from the side. He is a fan of his dad and for that moment, his dad was a fan of his.

-In 2011, Cody brings back the classic IC Title and is doing quite well for himself. Something was missing though, until he met a girl. He talks about life on the road and how you meet co-workers and you try not to mix business and love. Dusty was working in FCW and told Cody about a girl down there with beautiful eyes. That lets us meet Brandi! She met Cody at a show where she was being a ring announcer. It was Texas and the make-up team gave her this massive hair-do. Cody told her to look at her hair in the mirror as it was messed up. Beth Phoenix told her, her hair was fine and that Cody was just flirting with her. Cody says he was being dead honest and not to believe the spin. They started dating immediately and we see Cody kiss Brandi at a live show.

-Cody showed Brandi the photo of Dusty holding the WWF Title he never won and how he was going to win it for him. Brandi felt it was a beautiful story about how a father loved his son. They dated for two years and were married in September of 2013. I was married two months before them which doesn’t mean much here, but I like to mention it.

-WWE Battleground: The Rhodes vs. The Shield! This was great and epic and everything wonderful about the business. The Rhodes beat The Shield capture Tag Gold. Cody notes it was a real moment where they got to be a family. Dusty had to be on cloud nine standing out there with his kids as they became Tag Champions.

-Starrdust: WWE wanted a new over the top character and Cody says the original designs were cool and he looked like Quick Silver.  There was a mask that looked like a condom over his head and they ended up with basically a mini version of Goldust. They all credit him for being full committed to the character even as far as wearing the gimmick to Six Flags.  

-The Stardust character caught the eye of our narrator, Stephen Amell.  That leads to Cody being on Arrow, and Cody admits a lot came from the character.  Dave LaGreca says he hated Stardust as it was never seen as a WWF Champion.  Cody knew he was stuck in the midcard with the character and it made him dead inside.  He feels bad for his wife that had to live with him throughout that period.  She knew how hard he was trying and she felt sorry for him.  

-HHH talks about doing something creative and ending up down a road you didn’t want.  He says it is always about the overall brand and not the individual.  Dusty hated Stardust and didn’t know why the WWE didn’t seem him as a top of the card star, but Dusty admits this may be dad talking.  Dusty is the one that told Cody if he wasn’t happy with the character he should quit. 

-Cody notes his mom would have disowned him if he quit anything.  He hung on and tried to find ways to make it work.  Meanwhile Dusty is working with the kids in NXT and it’s becoming the hot promotion.  Cody hated seeing how great NXT was getting under Dusty because he was stuck as Stardust and knew he could do what they were doing.  He also took it personal as all the talent was called Dusty’s kids.  Cody brings up that it was maddening that his dad told him to quit while he is grooming Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and all the Dusty kids.  It was like his dad had a separate baseball team and he wasn’t allowed to play.  

-The talking heads all talk about how much Dusty loved Cody and would complain they weren’t doing enough with him.  Dusty felt he should have stayed IC Champ or been a World Champion.  On June 11, 2015 the world lost Dusty Rhodes.  He woke up on June 10 and told his wife he was really sick and he collapsed.  The doctor told him he had an infection and he needed to stay on IV antibiotics.  We see the hospital and Cody notes he remembers every inch of the hospital.  His dad was septic and it’s not pretty.  My dad had sepsis that caused an infection in his heart and it was touch and go until he had surgery to replace valves.  Cody breaks my heart saying he went from praying his dad would leave to praying he would pass.  It was two days of sitting and watching your hero, your favorite person die.  This is rough!  Cody says he understands when people say, “your father is with you.  No, he’s not, but I understand.”  

-We see footage from Dusty’s Memorial Service including Cody giving a eulogy.  Taker notes how hard that had to be to do that in front of his peers.  Ric Flair says any father would love to have a son speak about them they way Cody spoke about Dusty.  Oh man, just gut wrenching stuff.  “Don’t just have a dream.  Have an American Dream.”  Oh man! 

-Cody didn’t want to come back as Cody and was happy to have Stardust as a mask to hide behind.  At SummerSlam it was supposed to be Cody vs. Stephen Amell.  This was only ten weeks after Dusty’s passing.  We see an interview where Cody is in tears talking about it being tacky if he came back as Cody Rhodes and how his dad didn’t want to be brought up in storylines after his passing.  “What I did is what I did,”  He talks about Battleground and how his dad was much more sick than he realized.  He admits to having his dad’s voice in his head and he admits to being skeptical about what happens to people after they die.  He hopes when he tags in tonight he can hear his dad as it would mean a lot for him.  He is okay with NXT doing a Tag Tournament and those kids being called Dusty’s kids, but he is actually one of his kids.  

-SummerSlam 2015: Cody says the character was tapped out and he felt good after the match.  It made him feel like one of the boys again.  He wanted the story of becoming Cody Rhodes again, but the WWE didn’t see it that way.  “Now what, was a whole lot of nothing.”  He had a writer pretend to be doing work instead of talking to him and Cody told HHH he really wanted to punch the writer in the face.  HHH told him if he wanted to make noise he needed to rattle some cages and Cody took that to heart.  

-Cody was stuck as Stardust for the next eight months and his resentment only grew.  Flair and Matt Cardona question why you wouldn’t want to him to use the name Rhodes.  Cody would drink whiskey with gatorade he was so checked out.  He didn’t want to get drunk but was hoping he would get fired. 

-He knew he wasn’t going to be fired because he was a legacy and a hard worker.  He fired WWE and wished them the best in their future endavours.  He could have stayed and collected a six figure salary.  His mother thought he would end up dead or in jail, but Brandi was happy to see him leave.  She wanted him to leave the place with good memories, and HHH notes it was a brave and bold move.  

-Cody says the first move had to matter and that was putting the now famous list out on twitter: Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, BOLA, Angle, Hero, The Miracle, Moose, Pat Buck, the streamers thing, Young Bucks, Trevor Lee, Shibata, Personal Ring Announcer, Roderick Strong.  Good stuff there!  Sami says nobody had done anything like that and it was a clever way to get the fans to ride with him on a journey.  

-Cody pops up in Evolve first and then bounces from Indy show to Indy show.  Kurt Angle says they wrestled a few times during that run and we see all kinds of Indy footage from various promotions.  Cody wanted to prove the guy holding the IC Title in WWF should have continued and been pushed up the card.  Hogan says this business is all about betting on yourself and he skyrocketed his ability.  HHH says not a lot of guys could have done what Cody did.  He worked all the show no matter if 50 fans or 5000.  NEW and WXW footage!

-He calls it a cathartic and beautiful experience as he connected with a lot of fans and other wrestlers. Brandi notes Cody wanted to honor his father while still being his own man. We get footage of him cutting a promo about waking up one morning and there is no shadow there anymore. It motivated him to punch and kick his way. He admits he didn’t deal with Dusty’s death well and it took stories from fans and fans bringing Dusty photos and gear to help him with it.

-Japan: Here we go! Cody goes to New Japan and they want him to come in as The American Nightmare. Yes, we have New Japan footage from WrestleKingdom in 2017! What a world we live in! Cody says he knew what The American Nightmare was at that first Tokyo Dome show. He needed every piece of everything he had done to build this character. The term Forbidden Door is discussed and Cody says before it became a fun term it was all about being locked in to a promotion like Impact or Ring of Honor if you signed there. He was in a position where he was wanted and anyone can have him, but it wasn’t exclusive. The Miz notes nobody created a bigger buzz on the Indy than Cody. THE YOUNG BUCKS! They pop up meeting Cody in a gym. Cody bleaches his hair because he was told to do everything opposite his father, but now he wanted to remind people of him.

-The Young Bucks: BEING THE ELITE FOOTAGE! Again, what a world! Cody realized they (him and The Bucks) could run a bigger show. The footage is the announcement of All In and trying to sell 10,000 tickets. Cody tells us that his sister Teil came up with the name, “All In.” Kevin Owens says it was unfathomable to think you could sell 10,000 tickets to an independent show.

-Cody says they weren’t sure what to do but it seems it was as easy as calling and asking if they could use their building. His favorite part was scaling for tickets as far as how much each section cost. They wanted to make the price affordable for everyone and it sold out in 49 minutes. DDP notes that Cody was having so much fun at that All In show and how he helped run everything.

-All In footage though it looks like it man be fan footage. Over 11,000 fans attended the show and Rey Mysterio was there. He talks about the buzz and says you could see the business side of Cody. Cody is proud that he has a plaque on the side of the arena about All In and he hopes they never tear it down.

-From that show Cody lead a team that created a new wrestling promotion. All Elite Wrestling! This is just surreal now! They have footage of The Bucks, and Cody signing their AEW contracts. Brandi notes that her and Cody were doing anything and everything they needed to get this company going. Taker is impressed by what Cody did.

-Liberty is born and Cody notes you don’t become a man until you have a daughter. He and Brandi talk about how Liberty became the most important thing. We see photos of baby Liberty as Cody talks reporting back to her. He thought he had a tough task following Dusty the wrestler and it’s following him being a father. He breaks down as he says he hopes he is even close.

-In 2022 rumors started floating that Cody’s contract with AEW was up and he may even be working without a contract. Brandi thought it was odd to not renew a contract of the foundation in a business that is so competitive. Bruce Prichard says they heard the rumors, so he reached out to Cody to see if it was true. Cody called back and Vince and him were on a flight to Atlanta the next day to meet Cody in person.

-Cody looked it as closure and thought he would apologize as he exited, but also as the guy that rattled some cages. It isn’t what he got out of it at all. Vince told Cody they didn’t want to change anything and they were buying The American Nightmare. Prichard notes that they left with no doubt in their mind that Cody was returning home.

-Cody has one request and wants this one part unedited and left in this documentary. “I can’t tell you why I left AEW, and I won’t. But I will tell you the reasons that were said, that didn’t actually matter. I didn’t leave AEW because of money, and I didn’t leave AEW because of other talents. I left AEW because of a personal issue. That’s it! The by product of leaving AEW is to go for the biggest dream I ever had, and the first dream I had in my life.” HHH: “To take the gamble again and say this is not what I wanted to be. I didn’t grow up dreaming of being the Champion or the face of a secondary promotion. I wanted to be the WWE Champion.” BURN! Not really, but some will take it that way.

-Cody was about to show everyone The Forbidden Door swings both ways. Prichard notes everything they had for Seth at WrestleMania had fallen through. Seth says it was finalized two weeks before the show. Cody calls Seth one of the best in the business and he was going to make his WrestleMania. One of Dusty’s kids! Cody was all for it!

-WrestleMania 38: Prichard talks about a surprise and having to satisfy the crowd’s hunger. Graves says he heard rumors, but as an announcer he wish he knew so he could prepare some facts. Kevin Owens notes he knew he was coming back, but Cody wouldn’t admit it until he sent a text asking where he was. Cody told him he was on a bus.

-We see footage of Cody on the bus talking about his last Mania was in this same building as Stardust. Brandi knew Cody needed her, his mom, and his sister, but she was the only one that could make it and she has to also control a nine month baby. His mom had a good reason though as it was her granddaughter’s wedding day. They had a watch party in a field where the reception was. That’s awesome!

-Cody gets off the bus with a hoodie on to keep him hidden as long as possible. Cody didn’t know what kind of response and wondered if he would get booed since he was the alternative. He told Brando to leave Gorilla if they boo him. They are doing a great job building the drama of this. “WRESTLING HAS MORE THAN ONE ROYAL FAMILY!” The pop is amazing and again, just another surreal moment in this wonderful world of wrestling I have loved my whole life. Graves said it best, “The Prodigal Son has returned. From undesirable to undeniable.”

-Oh yeah, there is an actual match and Cody does a Stardust cartwheel. Cody says he needed all those experiences and needed to lean into everything. Great job with editing here as they show Cody do something and than Stardust do it or his father do it. It was a great match and Cody gets the win to jump start this run. After the match Cody has interviews with everyone and talks about how there is no drug like what he got during that match. He talks about his dad and gets emotional and would tell his father thank you first and foremost. Miz notes Dusty was looking down and could not have been any prouder. Miz says he was so proud of Cody. Michael Cole notes this Cody was no longer a kid and was back as a man with a new found respect. Cody notes that everyone just told him, “welcome home.” Cody says he felt like a hypocrite because he left and went elsewhere, but he knows now it is his home. He gets emotional talking about it and says it’s wild, but he couldn’t ask for a better home.

-Two days later on RAW, Cody lays out his top priority: Win the WWE Title for his father. The fans loved Cody and bought all in on his story. Taker notes that you can tell that Cody was on that rocket heading up. Producer: “Then what, happened?” Cody: “Ah, fuck.”

-May 20, 2022: Cody is in his gym working out as he talks about preparing for Hell in a Cell. They discuss The Cell and how it has changed careers forever. Why yes, Foley flying off the Cell is included in another WWE documentary series. Cody says he got hurt bench pressing and it was frustrating and embarrassing. Seth says Prichard called him and said Cody tore his pec. Seth responded with, “are you fucking kidding me.” Initially they were thinking of a way to substitute the match. HHH notes he had the same injury and knows what it felt like when it happened and how it felt a couple days later. “You find out a lot about people when they are injured.” Cody sent notes to everyone to please not cancel the match. He plays some of the voice messages he left and it’s him basically begging for the match to happen and that his doctor agreed that he can’t do any further damage to himself. Prichard says Cody was insisting and they had all their experts examine him. He had strength is his arm and strength in his chest, so he could do everything. It just looked gruesome and yep, he isn’t lying. Brandi was all for him competing, but she didn’t want him to kill himself. Mom was obviously worried and asked if he had to do this. He promised her it doesn’t hurt as much as it looks, and she knew he was lying.

-Hell in a Cell: Seth, ever the troll, dresses in Dusty’s polka-dots. That’s just great! Cody says he needed to be in that ring that night and if he was going out, it had to be his way. We get the reveal and the crowd just goes dead quiet. They show the fans and you can see the look on their faces. Graves notes that was the first time he saw it and says the gasp from the fans sucked the air out of the building. It was uncomfortable and like they were watching something they shouldn’t be seeing. Hogan says it really added to the story, drama, and intrigue. Taker calls it Old School as they lived by the rule that if you can walk, you go to the ring. Cody guts it out and they didn’t cheat anyone as they went all out. Cody admits the Cody Cutter sucked and he nearly vomited. The ref told Cody if he had any problem he would stop the match. Brandi notes the issue: “you can’t hurt it worse, but it still hurts.” Dude had to be in so much pain. Cody gets the win in what I voted as my Match of the Year for 2022.

-Cody gets a standing ovation coming back through Gorilla. I’d hope! Vince is there to greet Cody. Seth knows Cody lied about the pain, and Cody backs that up. He admits he lied through his teeth about how much pain he was in. He says he hates talking about the pec because he is embarrassed it happened. He does love that it made a portion of the audience that hadn’t come around yet, join his side. “If that’s what did it, it’s a pec well spent.”

-Cody heads to Birmingham to have his pec repaired and of course we get operation footage. I work for a vet and I see some gnarly stuff. Still is nasty! Brandi stood there and watched through a window. She was told it was as successful surgery as could be. Cody learned he wasn’t bulletproof. He wanted to come back better than he ever was.

-Oct 2022: Cody is at his wrestling school, The Nightmare Factory. We see Cody talking to the kids that was to be wrestlers. This is the first time meeting this group and they get to ask questions. One kid asks how you come back from a serious injury. Cody: “good question.”

-Cody says the toughest challenge was after the third month you feel normal, but then you realize you can only lift three pounds and then five pounds. Angle talks about rehabbing through injuries and how you have doubts if you can get back to where you were. Cody notes he has to be what he was, but different as he has an anchor keeping his pec attached. The biggest thing isn’t the injury, but how it weights on your mind. It’s the unknown! Taker says you sit there helpless while the machine keeps rolling and you don’t know how things are going to change. Seth and Cardona say basically the same thing. This is great perspective on what being on the shelf does to these men and women. Cody is happy they are free to talk about the mental health. His wife and daughter were the saving grace for him. He got to be around Liberty more than he would have if he was on the road.

-Dec 2022: After six months of rehab, Cody steps in the ring for the first time as he is given the green light. He thought he was a hard worker, but then realized how much harder he needed to work. He got as lean as he had ever been and as healthy as an athlete as he had ever been.

-WWE makes their wrestlers go through an evaluation before they can get cleared. Carmelo Hayes is the one that gets to work out with Cody to get him cleared. Cool! These two could tear the house down. Melo says people think he was there for Cody, but he learned so much from Cody. He had to step his game up to meet Cody. The goal became The Royal Rumble!

-Royal Rumble: San Antonio! As we all know the winner of The Rumble heads to WrestleMania to face The Champion. The Men’s Rumble starts the show and GUNTHER has one of the greatest performances in Rumble history. Cody gets to enter at 30 because that’s a good place for someone coming back from a major injury and gave us the cool story of it coming down to#1 and #30. Cody: “The first chop he put on my chest on the area that was repaired was like coming alive again. He made me feel it.” GUNTHER breaks the longevity record for a 30 Man Rumble, but gets tossed and Cody wins The Match. Cody notes he felt damn good in that moment and we see his mom watching with pride from ringside.

-Cody after the show says it hasn’t hit him at all. He gets congratulated by Miz, DDP, Stephen Amell, who were all backstage waiting for him. Cody says for a guy that doesn’t believe in destiny they are on a hell of a course. The story was now there to be finished. I will note they have these cool production scenes running through this with Cody walking through a desert finding various things on his journey. The coolest was Hell in A Cell there in a desert as he walks up to it. This time it’s the version of the WWF Title that Dusty didn’t win in the sand.

-Roman Reigns: Seth calls Roman the biggest Main Eventer in WWE history. Ahem, I still put Hogan ahead of him. Sorry! Cody goes through the list of people that couldn’t beat Roman: Edge, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Sami Zayn in Montreal. “Why should I be the one to do it?” Cody cuts his promo about the goalposts moving and how Roman might be impossible, but not for him. If one person could do it, it’s the guy that has been training his whole life.

-WrestleMania 39: Cody Rhodes does the media tour the week of WrestleMania. He is on Rich Eisen who notes Cody visited him a year ago promoting AEW and now he is in the Mania Main Event. Morning of the Sunday show and Cody is taking his daughter around the stadium. Cody says he really wants to win, but it’s not about that only anymore. He can’t hand his dad the WWE Title, and he has his own family. One day his daughter will tell people Cody Rhodes is her father and it is important what comes back.

-Daniel Cormier was at the show and says Cody looks like a champion, but it won’t be easy. We should have known Cody was losing when his pyro didn’t match up to Roman’s. Cody should have had all the pyro. It should have put Disney World to shame, but perhaps that is being saved for next year. Roman and Cody have a great match filled with all kinds of crazy drama that had me and my friend (who joins me for every Mania at my house) on our feet. I crumbled to the ground when Cody lost because it didn’t seem possible and perhaps that is where they got us. I had it in my head that Roman who had been Champion for over two years, had no chance of winning. Stupid me! We see Brandi get caught up and yell for the ref as Solo hits Cody with The Spike. They pan the crowd and the reactions are something else. Cody’s family looks stunned at ringside. I wonder what they knew?

-HHH notes that being in the Main Event of WrestleMania is the biggest moment and one Dusty never had. We see him tell Cody he is so fucking proud of him after the match in Gorilla. He felt it was needed to reinforce to him what he had just done and accomplished. Cody says he knows people are proud, but it sucks as the story is unfinished. “A lot of good stories have a lot of pages.”

-Cody talks about the book closing one day and people can say he is Dusty’s son, or they can can say he is Dusty’s son and look at all he accomplished. Brandi talks about how great it must be to not be the chosen one, and then you do things your way and have them bringing you back. Hogan notes Cody has started as a wrestler and became a star and now he is an attraction. That is when you know are on another level. Mom is as proud as a parent can be and Orton says he looks up to Cody inside and outside of the ring. He is a great father and we see him with his daughter. He won’t say he is proud as a performer yet as the story isn’t finished. Flair notes Cody won’t stop until he gets the title his dad never won. Cody: “I will carry this dream on my shoulder until it becomes a reality.”

-We close with credits and the song we all want to hear. They show some behind the scenes stuff while showing the credits which is cool. It’s all the stuff of Cody walking through the desert/

-Obviously this was great, but I am a sucker for these documentaries. I loved them when they would release as DVD sets, and I love them still. Some times they do quick ones just to cash in, but since they are on The Network or Peacock they put more time and effort into them. This one was no exception. They covered nearly everything you want and the stuff they didn’t is mostly in AEW and they can’t for obvious reasons. I enjoyed they mentioned AEW by name and didn’t just refer them as a nameless company. They could have touched on the whole battle of Cody not being able to use his last name and how they got resolved, but that is a minor quibble. The talking head selection was great and varied. We got friends, family, co-workers, and guys that knew his father. Again, it would have been nice to have Young Bucks, or someone from AEW, but that can’t happen for obvious reasons. I wonder if they reached out though? This is definitely worth a watch and it can get heavy at times as they talk about Dusty’s passing, but that is life and it’s good to cry. The two hours flew by and I am sure I will check this one out again. Thanks for reading!