Despite being from the world of NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr has, on occasion, welcomed guests from different sports to The Dale Jr Download podcast, hoping to give fans an insight into sports other than NASCAR. His latest guest on his podcast was the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, who had an interesting conversation with the Cup Series driver, a lot of which revolved around his late father, the legendary Dusty Rhodes.

During the 80s and the early 90s, Dusty was one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling. At a time when the world was marveled by the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, Dusty brought something different to the plate and made it all the way to the top. Today, the ‘American Dream’ is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers to have ever graced the squared circle, and not just with his physical skills.

Cody Shares His Father’s Greatest Skill

Speaking about the art of professional wrestling, Dale Jr. asked Cody what kind of work goes into writing and cutting promos. Promos are a massive part of professional wrestling, a lot of times being more important than the match itself. Cody, of course, has grown up in a wrestling household and a lot of his skills, including the ones on the mic, have been taught by his father.

The American Nightmare said that there is a stark contrast in how promos were cut back then versus now. His father was a master at communicating and connecting with the fans no matter what storyline he might be put in. According to Rhodes, the promos of today don’t have that soul.

“There’s not the soul that Dusty presented. There’s almost like a political campaign element to how I do it. They’re very different and they have to be. You can’t be him, you know,” he said.

When asked if cutting a promo came naturally to his father, Cody told an interesting fact that not a lot of people might have known of. Back in the 80s, there was not a lot of footage of past wrestlers and their promos so a lot of the guys who were trying it make it in the business at the time would “steal and pluck” elements from older wrestlers and there weren’t going to be any repercussions as such.

“My dad modeled a lot after a wrestler named Thunderbolt Patterson. A lot of guys did this. You know, Hogan took from Superstar Billy Graham. There wasn’t a lot of footage so you could steal and pluck and there wasn’t going to be such a call back…but he very much crafted it,” the former WWE Intercontinental Champion said.

The 38-year-old also revealed one aspect of the promos that his father was a master at, and perhaps which is the most important aspect of cutting a promo, connecting with the audience. Rhodes said that his father could connect with the audience no matter what the content of the promo was. Even if there wasn’t anything substantial to say, Dusty was able to get a fantastic reaction from the crowd and that was all down to the relationship he built with them.

“He could come out there with what we call ‘no new information promos’, it’s the dreaded thing. It’s like I’m not telling them it’s a cage match, we’re not getting into a fight, oh my gosh, no information? He was the master of those because they just wanted to have fun with him and giggle and laugh and have this charismatic moment,” the American Nightmare added.

Today, Cody Rhodes is one of the biggest stars in WWE and one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the world. He was recently part of an epic match against Brock Lesnar in the iconic Summer Slam pay-per-view. But things have not always been smooth sailing for the second-generation superstar.

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After Being Released, Cody Rhodes Is Back With a Bang in WWE

Rhodes’ current run in WWE is not his first. He was a part of the company in the 2000s and 2010s, a time when he was quite green in the ring and on the mic. He had a few great moments as he won the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team titles. He was also part of a successful stable alongside Ted DiBiase Jr and the legend killer, Randy Orton, called The Legacy.

However, his time was cut short as he was released from his contract, and it’s safe to say that he did not leave on good terms. 

“I left in a very, burn the boats, burn the bridges. […] I had a really good eight of the 10 years and then two years of not-so-great. […] One of the ideas I had was, I’ll be doing these small independent shows, small wrestling shows,” he said.

Rhodes would then move to the independent circuit, wrestling in promotions like Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. He was also one of the first wrestlers to be signed by WWE’s biggest competitor at the moment, All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Today, Rhodes has finally made it back to where his journey to being a pro-wrestler really took off. He has mended the fences with the people at the top of the company and is all set to be one of their biggest stars in the coming years.

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