Cody Rhodes Talks Living Up To The Rhodes Family Legacy And Preparing To “Finish The Story”

A new article from the Bleacher Report traces the path of Cody Rhodes’ wrestling career, from his early attempts at acting, his various gimmicks and characters for WWE and the events that took him from AEW back to WWE where he is poised to challenge for the Universal Championship. Growing up in the shadow of his father Dusty, Rhodes is keenly aware of the talent and impact his family has exerted on the wrestling industry and is sensible of the comparisons in the mind of the audience of his own performance and that of his predecessors. You can read a few highlight quotes from Rhodes below.

On what it was like growing up as Dusty Rhodes’ son: “I grew up second string. And what I mean by that is even when I was good at something, my dad was still Dusty Rhodes, right? And that’s great, but that puts something in you that makes you shoot for moments and expectations that are so wildly large, because you need them to be that large for you to get out of second string. The story of how great I was as an amateur wrestler is really fun, but I didn’t have Dustin’s athleticism, I didn’t have Dusty’s interview [skills], I didn’t have my sister [Teil’s] acting chops. I felt like I was always behind somebody, and when you feel that way, it drives you.”

On seeing how his father’s influence is always present in the industry: “People will say, ‘Why does Cody always talk about his dad?’ or they’ll bring that up that it’s a regular thing in interviews or how emotional I am over it all. And it’s always fun to see and it’s never gotten under my skin. But what I noticed with this [WWE run] is it’s not always me who’s bringing him up. It’s everybody else.”

On how he is now making his own mark, independent of his parents and siblings: “But for me to be able to finish the story right at the biggest event in the history of wrestling absolutely means the next story is about just me. It isn’t tied to anything else. I feel the stakes going into WrestleMania this year. I’m not buckling beneath them. I’m trying to use them to embolden me and strengthen me… I feel like I’ve settled into The American Nightmare in a way that is so genuine that the name almost sounds ridiculous when I hear it. But I mean, it’s on my skin.”