WWE's Cody Rhodes Talks About How His Father Dusty's Death Changed His Career

Over the last few years, Cody Rhodes has steadily risen to become one of the top stars in professional wrestling. Prior to that, Cody spent the early part of his career in WWE alongside his father, Dusty Rhodes, until Dusty's death in 2015. Appearing on "The Pivot Podcast," Cody confirmed that Dusty used to provide him with advice on every aspect of his wrestling journey and laid out how his father's passing affected his career.

"He had some really unique guidelines for how you would be a wrestler ... that had worked for him, but some of those guidelines didn't actually ... apply to me," Rhodes said. "Or maybe they didn't apply to the speed that wrestling was getting to. ... A byproduct of him passing, obviously, was the motivation to do more to try to match the standard that he set. ... [Another] odd byproduct of it was I could break some of those rules and I wouldn't have that guilt."

As an example, Rhodes said that his father had previously told him that wrestlers who wore long tights were "job guys," meaning they were the performers who were always booked to lose. Another element of his presentation that Rhodes believes his father wouldn't approve of is the noticeable tattoo on his neck, which he had done in 2020.

"I feel like, if he saw WrestleMania 40 — everyone's like, 'Oh, he would've loved it,'" Rhodes continued. "There's a chance he could've seen that tattoo and walked right back to the car."

While Dusty was a monumental influence on Cody's career, the Undisputed WWE Champion said that he was given the opportunity to do things his own way after his father died. In the near-decade since his father's death, Rhodes departed WWE, recreated his image on the independent scene, helped found a new company, and returned to become the Undisputed WWE Champion.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Pivot Podcast" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.