Cody Rhodes: My Promos Don’t Have The ‘Soul’ Dusty Rhodes Had, There Is More Political Campaign Element
Cody Rhodes discusses his promo style.
Dusty Rhodes is one of the most revered speakers in wrestling history with fans and wrestlers all having a Dusty Rhodes impression and reciting some of his famous words, lines, and promos. Cody Rhodes has become one of the most heralded speakers in wrestling, captivating audiences with his words in the middle of the ring.
Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr on Dale Jr Download, Cody discussed the importance of promos and how he differentiates himself from Dusty.
“There are so many great wrestling matches, I love going back and watching full matches. Most of the time, the memories and moments we’re connected to, aren’t an actual match. Dusty, for example, Hard Times, the promo he did, that’s typically what most people will bring up and talk about and get into. They’re not actually talking about the match that it referenced. I remember, but a good chunk of fans connected to the promo. My dad used to teach promos at NXT, he never called it promos, he called it communications class. I got what he meant years in doing it. His idea of communicating was connecting. You can do something really cool, a high spot, flips and crazy athleticism, but if they don’t care about you, it’s like watching fireworks. You did it, we’ve seen it. He had the ability to make them care about him or at least dislike their opponent. That’s the most important thing. I have a wrestling school now, and that’s my favorite day. That’s so important, and a lot of people today don’t want to work on it. I understand. You see what you see on TV and guys doing this athletic stuff, but it’s not something people want to work on all that much. I have gotten into the habit where I overwork on promos. In WWE, there is a lot of structure and brain trust. There’s a writer, a voice memo, and we go back and forth. Then there are legends backstage who will chime in and have an idea. I’ve been very lucky that people like these interviews and moments. They’re very different from Dusty’s. There’s not the ‘soul’ that Dusty presented, they’re almost a political campaign element to how I do an interview. They have to be. I can’t be him,” stated Dusty.
Cody has begun starting every promo with “So, what do you want to talk about?” A line he first used in AEW in his last promo before leaving the company.
Elsewhere during the interview, Cody reflected on putting together All In. Fans can find his full comments by clicking here.
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