During an appearance on Peter Rosenberg’s podcast Cheap Heat, Cody Rhodes discussed the relationship between and his father Dusty. Here is an excerpt from the interview courtesy of adventuresinpoortaste.com.
Rosenberg: I’ve always been puzzled about the WWE’s relationship with your dad. It’s always been just a point of confusion for me as a fan. Since you have him as the most beloved, maybe the most beloved former great ever in terms of actual performers and the people in the company, and how they felt about him. And that’s propped up quite a bit. They also use that. They’ve named tournaments after him. He is a fixture.
Then at the same time, if you’re as big a wrestling nerd as you are, or I am, or everyone listening is, you also know that there have been these moments when they have clearly, at least it appears, dug at him. From the polka dots, to Virgil, all these things. How do you at this point view the way Vince McMahon and the WWE felt about your father?
Cody: It’s very simple. I could smash a thousand thrones and I could make a thousand pot shots and little fourth wall breaking comments about my experience because it is vastly different from Dusty’s.
But as his son, I know that in 2005 when he got his first royalty check for the Dusty Rhodes DVD, which they did a marvelous job on, my mother literally hit her knees in the kitchen and thank god for them having brought him back to financial security. For them having given him a home in the winter of his life in a functional thing to chew on with NXT and to maybe help and guide a few young stars. So with that in mind and what they did for him at the end, I will never be ungrateful to them.
Now I have my own opinions about my own career that are mine, and people think that because of what they did for my dad I should ya know be voiceless on occasion and that’s just never going to be the case. But, I will always say that I owe them a great debt. Maybe I paid it personally with the way things ended. Who knows. But I’ll never forget that. Both Hunter and Vince and Stephanie McMahon were very good to my father when he needed it, and as his son that’s something that if they ever ask me to ya know, to repay that debt, I’ll go repay it. Because it was important.
Now I know that the narrative is the McMahons hate the Rhodes and maybe in there there’s some true to that. But ya know. If I have a few drinks ask me the same question and the answer might be completely different. But in this moment, in this moment, I still remain very grateful for what they did for my dad. What they did for me, different story. What they did for him, very grateful.
