Ep 608 - WrestleMania (feat. Cody Rhodes)

Cody Rhodes reveals that his father, Dusty Rhodes, known as 'The American Dream' and 'the plumber's son,' crafted a narrative of humble beginnings. While his grandfather was a plumber, he was a successful non-union plumber, not 'down on their luck' as the wrestling lore suggested. This highlights the intentional construction of wrestling personas for audience connection.

My dad was like his pride and joy. You see all these pictures of him in like full-blown brand new cowboy outfits... they weren't super super rich or anything like that, but it's funny to hear the the story as it's told later in my dad's career because, you know, I'm the common man. Dad, you know, dad was a plumber. I came up on the streets.

In wrestling, credit for a move or catchphrase goes to 'whoever got it over,' meaning whoever made it famous and widely recognized, rather than its original creator. This principle allows for adaptation and popularization within the industry.

More wrestling the rule is whoever got it over, whoever made it famous it becomes theirs... Prime example, Hulk Hogan's Hulkup. Every wrestling baby face pretty much used to do the hit you. Nope, not anymore. And they'd start coming back... he made it such a big thing, the Hulk up was so the fingerpoint that nobody else could do it anymore.

Cody contrasts his early training at OVW, which involved self-driven passion and peer learning, with the modern WWE NXT Performance Center. The current system is highly structured, offering agility training, multiple rings (including padded ones for high spots), recovery suites, and top coaches like Shawn Michaels. The WWE's wellness policy, implemented since 2007, has also shifted the focus from bodybuilding and 'juicing' to overall athleticism and diverse body types.

Today it's all They've got it all mapped out really well. They've got exactly what you mentioned. They've got agility. They've got multiple rings... They've got Shawn Michaels... The system they have down down there with the performance center now is designed for the NIL athlete... the bodybuilding aspect of it, because since 2007, they've the wellness policy is there.

Cody Rhodes expresses a nuanced, somewhat critical view of Pat McAfee's involvement in a WrestleMania storyline, particularly when it intersects with established, deep-seated rivalries like his own with Randy Orton. He suggests McAfee's approach, including wearing shades and referencing the 'Attitude Era' (nearly 30 years old), feels out of sync with the current, thriving era of wrestling. This highlights the challenge of integrating external celebrities without disrupting existing narratives or disrespecting the contemporary product.

Randy Orton, who I'm wrestling at Wrestlemania, we have like almost two decades of history... and then we inserted uh Pat McAfee... everyone around Pat McAfee his orbit probably someone needs to say no every now and then... looking up and he's wearing shades... It's a different era of wrestling. It was like watching a guy at a bar do like a stone cold impression... I heard him talk about the attitude era and I'm thinking oh man I don't think he knows almost 30 years ago almost so love it and it was the most prolific era in the business until the last four years. So, if you're part of the last four years, you kind of feel like, why are we talking about this?