Dustin Rhodes recently appeared as a guest on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling. During the discussion, Dustin commented on The Undertaker saying he should be in the Hall of Fame:
“That was nice of him. I loved working with Mark. He was great. Always great. When you got two people that can work, it makes things a lot easier, and back then everybody could work. You had good matches and good storylines. It was just different. The Attitude Era was a different beast man, different than anything we’ve ever had. The Ruthless Aggression Era and all the other eras that we have gone through and look at where we’re at now, and just how much the business has changed over the years. I’m an old-school guy and I say this to my students all the time. Without the old school, there is none of this new school. You have to learn this sh*t right here. Then you add your little spices and your little 2024 attitude with it and a couple of new move sets. People want to be told a story, period, and I swear to God, it still works. That’s me. I’m a storyteller. I’m big on psychology. I’m big on making people feel something because that is the most important thing. If they’re feeling something at home sitting in the recliner and I touch their lives or move them in some way, they’re coming back. They’re not turning the channel and there’s a lot of people that don’t. There are a lot of people just going through the motions and doing moves and moves with no rhyme, no meaning, and you know, nothing against them, but that’s just not me. I mean, there’s different styles and mine is old school.”
On if he thought Cody would leave AEW:
“I didn’t, actually. I didn’t, but I know some stuff that went on. I think it was just his time and he made a smart decision. He made a very smart decision. Look at him now. You know, he is the man there. So it’s an incredible ride and incredible journey from him leaving the first time in WWE and saying he’s betting on himself and just taking the ball and f*cking running with it. He created something really cool. That’s awesome.”
On how Cody has changed compared to his first WWE run:
“More wisdom, more business sense. He’s gotten very smart for his age in a short period of time. He studies. He’s a studier of the business, a studier of politics, a studier of all kinds of things. He studies his vocabulary. He uses such big words and that’s just not me. I’m like, what does that mean? I’ll look it up. Oh, that’s a good word, but I won’t ever f*cking remember it. That’s what kind of sets us different. He wears suits all the time. I can’t. It’s just too hot. It’s just comfort for me. He’s everything. When you look at a true superstar or megastar, he is fitting that bill right now. He is doing an amazing job of carrying the company along with the great talent that are there, but right now, he can do no wrong. They’re pushing him to the moon and it doesn’t happen that much to people. It’s really good to see that a Rhodes is really getting there due in the business with WWE.”
If he thinks about when his last match will be:
“No. I did last year, a little bit. It’s one of those things I need to sit down and think about this type of conversation with myself and weigh the cons and the pros. Not yet. I would say, two to three years, maybe.”
If he thought of leaving AEW when Cody did:
“No, I’m happy there. I’m very happy in AEW and it’s a good place for me. We’re growing, we’re doing some wonderful things, business is up, everything is great. It’s a different style over there as it is WWE. We have some of the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet in that company and it is special to watch them even to have a chance to step in the ring with him. My God, there’s some good talent there. They do some amazing stuff, just incredible stuff, like different category stuff. Will Ospreay, they have to build a new category for him because he is insane and he’s so young. It’s amazing the incredible things that he does. It’s nuts.”
