Cody Rhodes On Dusty Rhodes’ Impact On WrestleMania: ‘Dusty’s Kids’ Are Doing Something Spectacular

Cody Rhodes shares his thoughts on the way “Dusty’s Kids” are in the spotlight at WWE WrestleMania 39.

Cody Rhodes shares his thoughts on the way “Dusty’s Kids” are in the spotlight at WWE WrestleMania 39.

Cody’s father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, was a vital figure in WWE’s developmental system, as he worked with the superstars of tomorrow in NXT. He has been credited with helping names like Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens, among many others, become the stars they are today. This group of talent is often called “Dusty’s Kids”, a name that sets up some inherent contrast with Cody and Dustin Rhodes, Dusty’s actual children.

Cody will headline WWE WrestleMania 39, as he will challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Throughout the feud, Reigns has often brought Dusty up in his promos, and he has used the way Dusty trained him against Cody in an effort to get in his opponent’s head.

Speaking with The Associated Press, Rhodes was asked about the story of the title match, which pits Dusty’s actual son versus one of his “kids” that he trained at NXT. “The American Nightmare” described how “Dusty’s Kids” was something that he heard a lot when his father passed away, as it was clear that his legacy would live on through the stars he trained. He named the core members of the group, including Reigns, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. Rhodes noted that, for the most part, they’re all doing something spectacular at WrestleMania. 

“When he passed away, ‘Dusty’s Kids’ was something that I heard a lot because his influence and legacy were being spread out. That was a statistic being touted. Bayley, Sasha (Banks), Becky (Lynch), Seth (Rollins), Roman, Sami (Zayn), Kevin (Owens), the core ones, were all doing better than I was. It wasn’t something I could complain about or throw a tantrum over because they were honoring him. It almost felt like they were honoring him more than I was. There’s jealousy and envy that comes with it. I would have loved to have done a promo class or been around a ring with my father. I got a far different education from him than they did. But that’s why in these interviews, even on nights I don’t want to say his name or talk about him, you hear it nonetheless because his fingerprints are all over WrestleMania. Every one of those people I just named, for the most part, is doing something spectacular. You want to add yourself to that list, and you almost can’t function if you don’t. I feel like that’s slightly weaponized in a sense by Roman toward me. I wasn’t adjusted and ready for it. I’m ready for it now,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes has teased that he will have plenty of pyro at WWE WrestleMani 39. Check out his comments here.

“The American Nightmare” will face Solo Sikoa on the March 27 episode of WWE Raw, and he will also appear on the March 31 episode of WWE SmackDown. More information is available here.

Check out the card for WWE WrestleMania 39 here. Fightful will have live coverage of the show as it airs on April 1 and 2.