Some of the most prominent “Dusty’s Kids” in WWE NXT included Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and others, and Cody Rhodes recently admitted to being jealous of them when he saw them succeeding better than he was during his first run in WWE.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Rhodes said,
“When he passed away, “Dusty’s Kids” was something that I heard a lot because his influence and legacy were being spread out. That was a statistic being touted. Bayley, Sasha (Banks), Becky (Lynch), Seth (Rollins), Roman, Sami (Zayn), Kevin (Owens), the core ones, were all doing better than I was. It wasn’t something I could complain about or throw a tantrum over because they were honoring him. It almost felt like they were honoring him more than I was. And there’s jealousy and envy that comes with it. I would have loved to have done a promo class or been around a ring with my father. I got a far different education from him than they did.”
Discussing how his father’s legacy is far more than his days as a wrestler and promoter, Cody stated how The American Dream’s work as a trainer has resulted in him having fingerprints all over professional wrestling today. He said,
“But that’s why in these interviews, even on nights I don’t want to say his name or talk about him, you hear it nonetheless because his fingerprints are all over WrestleMania. Every one of those people I just named, for the most part, is doing something spectacular. You want to add yourself to that list, and you almost can’t function if you don’t. I feel like that’s slightly weaponized in a sense by Roman toward me. I wasn’t adjusted and ready for it. I’m ready for it now.”
While he may have not had the best of starts, Cody Rhodes seems to be finally fulfilling his and his family’s potential and destiny, as he is headed to the main event of WrestleMania 39 to challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship this Sunday.
