8 Things We Learned From Cody Rhodes On Stephanie McMahon's WWE Show
3. He Feels WrestleMania 39 Was 1977 Repeated
Fans may recall Cody talking about Dusty Rhodes beating 'Superstar' Billy Graham by countout in 1977 during his initial comeback run in 2022. The 'American Nightmare' spoke candidly on episodes of Raw about how badly he wanted to win the WWE Title so his family's legacy was complete. After all, despite parading around the ring with the old WWWF Title belt, Dusty was never officially champion.
As he grew older, Cody began to realise that his father was a big enough star to merit holding the WWF/WWE's top prize. When he lost out to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, Rhodes did privately wonder if his family just wasn't meant to hold that big one. That was one of the many, many things running through his mind during that iconic, melancholic post-match shot.
Internally, Cody was thinking about 1977 and how proud his dad must've been to strap the WWWF Title around his waist. Then, he pictured Dusty's sadness over having to hand the thing back to Billy Graham. Then, he thought about how his father never came close to that sort of moment on the WWE side ever again. It ate away at Cody for a while after 'Mania 39, but he used it as fuel to keep going.
It's incredible that this was also WWE's kayfabe story. In truth, there was nothing kayfabe about it. Rhodes did believe Dusty should've been champ, and he knew he was the family's last available stab at holding that title. He couldn't physically hand it to his father, but Cody could honour his memory by winning out.
What a story.