Cody Rhodes Talks WWE Using The Great American Bash, Hating What They Did With Starrcade

AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes appeared on Busted Open Radio to celebrate his birthday and promote Fyter Fest on TNT. WWE NXT announced that The Great American Bash would occur on the same nights as Fyter Fest, sparking fans to ask Cody his thoughts on WWE using something that his dad, Dusty Rhodes created. Cody talked about what the event means to him and his family.

"People sometimes mistakenly think Dusty just named Starrcade and Great American Bash, and it's well beyond naming them," Cody noted. "It's a matter of booking them, of marketing them [and] of the creation of what the event stands for especially at the advent of PPV. My dad always told me that Starrcade was for my sister, and Great American Bash was for me. Obviously, at the time he came up with these events, I'm not sure that was actually the case, but that's what he told me, and that's why it's very special, both events, to me and my sister."

Cody shared those same sentiments on Twitter, and he talked more about how NXT is marketing The Great American Bash. He compared the marketing to how Disney markets their nostalgic material.

"I'm not going to get angry because it still brings up his name in a positive way," Cody said. "The marketing of the event reminds me a lot of what Disney currently does. If you go to Disney World, they still sell 'Haunted Mansion' shirts, and they're all done retro style. That's something they market really well. They market nostalgia.

"If you run a sizzle with Sting and Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan, none of those guys will be there. It's a unique marketing thing. I'm not really upset about it. I know my sister thought it was so strange it was just announced willy-nilly, last minute."

Cody reiterated that he was not angry about NXT's use of The Great American Bash. He said he hopes that they do something special with it noting that WWE's version of Starrcade was a smaller event than what it traditionally is.

"In the strangest of ways, I would hope they do something special with it," Cody stated. "I think out show will be better in execution, but I hope they do something special with it because I hated what Michael Hayes did with Starrcade. He took a creation of my dad's, and he made it a live event because they weren't selling any tickets in North Carolina. He wanted to save his job.

"That was disappointing to me in terms of that was the premiere event of WCW and NWA, and you did what you did with it. The same, I hope, doesn't happen with Great American Bash. I'm not upset about anything that brings my dad's name in a positive light."

Cody also noted that he has competed against his father before when he teamed up with his brother Dustin against The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. He joked that maybe if he was under the influence, he would have other words to say but reiterated that he hopes The Great American Bash will be something special.

"Is it a weird feeling? For sure," Cody noted. "I've been in a tag match with my brother competing, ratings wise, against the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. One guy who I never mind competing with is my own dad. I'll never mind that, and The Great American Bash, it is what it is.

"I would hope they do something positive with it. That's really the only outlook on it, unless I have like three or four bourbons. Then I would have an absolutely different outlook on it. I like that they bring his name up in a charming, loving way. I just hope it's not another Starrcade situation.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.