Cody Rhodes Pays Tribute to Legendary Father Dusty Rhodes After WWE SmackDown at Madison Square Garden
In an unforgettable night time at Madison Square Garden, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes paid a heartfelt tribute to his father, the mythical Dusty Rhodes, following an motion-packed WWE SmackDown event. The nighttime featured Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens clashing with The Bloodline in a brawl that captivated the New York City target market.
The show commenced with a chaotic stumble upon among the trio of Rhodes, Orton, and Owens, and The Bloodline, resulting in a marvelous and tumultuous scene. The brawl reached its height when Owens placed Tonga Loa thru a table, showcasing the depth and unpredictability that WWE fans have come to like. The sickness escalated in addition while the trio took on the safety personnel added to ringside by way of SmackDown GM Nick Aldis, leading to the involvement of police officers who sooner or later escorted Rhodes, Orton, and Owens out of the constructing.
However, the night time’s drama did no longer end there. After the SmackDown broadcast, Cody Rhodes took middle stage for an in-ring promo that left the target audience each nostalgic and inspired. Rhodes spoke passionately approximately a enormous second in his father’s profession whilst Dusty Rhodes wrestled “Superstar” Billy Graham at MSG in the late ’70s. Despite defeating Graham, Dusty had the WWE Championship taken from him moments later due to the fact he had no longer officially won the identify.
Cody’s voice was filled with emotion as he recounted the story: “I mentioned it earlier when we came out here. I had a different plan in mind for my return to The Garden. Because it is not just my return to The Garden. For those of you who know this story, this is where it all began. In the late ‘70s, my father, ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes traveled to New York City to wrestle ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. He was a country boy from Austin, Texas, and for some reason, you guys just loved him.”
He continued, “In this fabled match, Dusty Rhodes defeated ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. He grabbed what would become this WWE Championship. He climbed that buckle over there, and he held it up. But moments later, they took it away from him.”
Cody then shared a personal dream he had since childhood: “I was eight years old, I saw the picture of this title. I knew nothing about the ins and outs of pro wrestling and sports entertainment. All I knew was I wanted to win that title for him. I had always planned on saying the silliest thing to him, but I just wanted to tell him that nobody can take it away from you now.”
In a poignant moment, Rhodes asked the crowd to indulge him as he symbolically recreated his father’s moment: “So like I said, if you’ll indulge me, I am gonna climb that buckle because I wanna hold up the WWE Championship, but if I could, my cousin [WWE timekeeper] Berkley, you got something in your hands over there? I will trade you.”
Following his emotional speech, Cody Rhodes spent an additional 30-45 minutes at ringside, interacting with fans, taking pics, and signing autographs, further cementing his connection with the WWE Universe.
EXCLUSIVE: Undisputed WWE Champion @CodyRhodes thanks the New York City crowd and talks about what @TheGarden means to his family.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/kEKjtzagzy
— WWE (@WWE) June 29, 2024
Cody Rhodes has been a preventing champion considering prevailing the WWE Championship at WrestleMania forty, successfully defending his title in three consecutive WWE Premium Live Events (PLEs). He secured victories against AJ Styles twice and Logan Paul. However, at the upcoming Money in the Bank event on July 6th, Rhodes will not be defending his championship. Instead, he will team up with Kevin Owens and Randy Orton in a six-man tag team match against three members of The Bloodline: Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa.
