Cody Rhodes clarifies his position on his dad’s creations

Recently, WWE’s been dusting off some intellectual property they purchased along with WCW back in the early part of this century. Because of how involved his father Dusty was in the creative side of WCW and the promotions which preceded it like those owned by Jim Crockett, that’s brought responses from The American Dream’s son, Cody.

The younger Rhodes being protective of his dad’s legacy is of great interest to a lot of fans, with each of his tweets on the subject of WWE’s Starrcade show in Greensboro, North Carolina or NXT’s TakeOver: War Games Network special drawing a lot of attention and coverage, something Cody well knows:

Bob’s Burger’s GIFs notwithstanding, the Ring of Honor World champ did go ahead and send out a longer explanation of the thought process behind his remarks about WWE using shows Dusty pioneered:

If that doesn’t show up in a legible fashion on your device, here’s a transcription:

“Received a lot of praise, but also a good deal of criticism in regards to my remarks on Starrcade and War Games... with that said I’d like to clarify my position and clear up some confusion. As I try to climb the ladder in my sport, with every arena I walk into, I carry my Father’s legacy. It is also my job to protect it. Literally. As head of his estate, I try to always honor and never exploit. There’s no guidebook on how I’m supposed to do that. I loved him. He was my best friend and his death was a shock. My comments are certainly from the heart, but they are measured and I stand by them.

Nobody ever claimed they need me or Michelle [Dusty’s widow; Cody’s mother]’s permission. “I was told” doesn’t mean anything more than that. They didn’t have to, but they did and for that I am thankful. Dusty didn’t just name/grid/book these events... he gave them life. Starrcade he did in honor of my sister, Teil. The PPV era would have come much later without the direct consequences of closed circuit and the large scale event concept. HOWEVER, I do understand that to the victor goes the spoils, and that my Dad’s many many creations for Jim Crockett Promotions and later WCW... they belong to WWE. They can do with them what they choose. That doesn’t mean I always have to like it though. If my Father had not been a public figure, I wouldn’t have to share him with the millions of wrestling fans out there. But I gladly do share him. I want generations of fans to know what he brought... because I feel it’s a beautiful legacy filled with treasures.”

There you have it. Will it do anything to change the praise or criticism Cody receives in his role as protector of Dream’s memory? Will fans be less interested in hearing what the younger Rhodes has to say on the subject?

You’re here in this “clickbait newsfeed shitshow”, so probably not. But maybe as WWE rolls more of these properties out and they become less breaking news and more a part of the regular wrestling landscape, this will get easier for Cody and less interesting for all of us.

We shall see.