Cody Rhodes opened up about a dark period when his late father Dusty Rhodes allegedly advised him to leave.
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Cody Rhodes, a professional wrestler for the WWE, is speaking up about a dark period in his career when his late father Dusty Rhodes allegedly advised him to leave. Since joining the business again in April, Cody, 38, has been vying for the WWE’s top championship, and one of the big events at next month’s SummerSlam will feature him facing off against former WWE and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
WWE American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, a new documentary on the second-generation professional wrestler, will debut on Peacock on July 31. In the documentary, Cody discusses how he initially left the WWE in order to escape the legacy of his WWE Hall of Fame father and a confining character he was unhappy with playing.
The face-paint-wearing gimmick “Stardust” was assigned to Cody, whose real name is Cody Runnels, in 2014. Cody grew more disillusioned with the role until, after a decade with WWE, he left the organization in 2016. Cody provides insight into his chats with his father Dusty, who also assisted in mentoring aspiring wrestlers backstage after retiring from in-ring competition, in an exclusive tape shared with PEOPLE.
“The conversations when I was doing Stardust became so negative and downtrodden, that that was one of the first times he just hit me with the basic, ‘Well, you should quit,’ “ Expressed Cody in the documentary.
Read more: WWE Update: SummerSlam 2023 Match Card, rumors and predictions
In a different interview, Cody’s sister Teil Gergel claims that she recalls Dusty being equally irate over the role, which they both thought was impeding his prospects of being taken more seriously as a top-star in WWE. “My dad called me and he was upset, he said he’ll never be world champ in this.”
The video also includes archival interview footage from Dusty’s stint as a WWE instructor, who passed away in 2015. “I see how talented he is, what are they not seeing here? [It’s] to where you just want to go off, ‘Are you blind?’ But [this is] his dad talking. His dad wants him to be on top.” Dusty says about his son.
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