Cody Rhodes On What Finishing The Story Means To People, Reveals Triple H & More Gave Him His Dad’s Old Watch

Cody Rhodes spoke following his win at night two of WrestleMania 40 about why his quest to finish the story resonated to people and got emotional talking about his father, the late Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes spoke at the post-show press event about why his oft-referenced term for his quest connected with fans and told a story about how Triple H, Bruce Prichard and Nick Khan presented him backstage with the watch that Dusty pawned to put him through acting school. You can see the highlights below:

On why “finishing the story” resonates with people: “It’s a great question. I think sometimes if feels like it’s a father-son story. It’s just something that, you know, father-daughter, father-son that people can see and relate to. But then if I’m truly being honest, I think it’s a story of — as much as I and the legacy and I had the last name, I wasn’t born with all the tools. My brother’s 6’4”. You know how pissed I was when I stopped growing? My dad and my sister had just all this charisma. And I think people resonate, that works for them. You can make it to the main event. You can make it to being THE main event. I always wanted to be a winning franchise, if that makes any sense. And at my age and where I’m at in my career, I know that’s not been the story. But I’m very proud of what the story has become.

“And you asked why it resonates. This is the only answer I really know. Because it’s real. I wanted to be this because at first he wasn’t and I thought he should have been. And then when he passed away, I failed, you know? I didn’t hand it to him. But it became about — I said this earlier… the story was beyond me at that point. And I still felt the need to finish it. I’ve been saying all week… even if I didn’t believe, people believed. So I had to do it.”

On being given his father’s watch: “I know this isn’t you asked, but something I wanted to share. I came to the back and Bruce Prichard and Triple H, and Nick Khan handed me this [watch], which is the same watch that my dad had, that he pawned so I could go to acting school. So the level of investment and responsibility that the company put in my hands? I hope that I can pay it back and pay it forward 100 times over.”

On what he would say to Dusty now: “That’s a great question. If I’m being honest, I think I’d want to say to him that ‘I hope I lived up to your name. And thank you for that name.’ And then I would say, ‘Sorry about the tattoo.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.