Freddie Prinze Jr. Thinks Cody Rhodes Is Re-Telling Dusty's 'Hard Times' Story In WWE

When Cody Rhodes failed to capture the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WWE WrestleMania 39, actor and former wrestling writer Freddie Prinze Jr. was outspoken about his disappointment. As the weeks have gone on, Prinze has since admitted the storyline can get back on track if Rhodes defeats Brock Lesnar at the upcoming WWE Backlash PLE. Now, Prinze has heard a pitch on the current Rhodes storyline that he can fully get behind, even if it means more losses in Rhodes' future. Speaking on his podcast, "Wrestling With Freddie," the former "Scooby Doo" actor laid out how a conversation with a friend changed his outlook.

"'You know how Triple H is a historian of wrestling?'" Prinze said, relaying what his friend told him. "He said, 'What if they're re-doing the Dusty Rhodes 'Hard Times' story, but with Cody this time around.'" Prinze's friend, who Prinze wouldn't name but revealed is another actor, believes that Rhodes will spend the next year going through "hard times," including losing to Lesnar at Backlash. According to the idea, Rhodes will have to work his way back up, and will eventually come back around and win the title next year at WWE WrestleMania 40.

"Dusty was chasing Ric's championship ... and he couldn't climb the mountain, because people kept killing him along the way," Prinze continued, describing the trajectory of Dusty's storyline at the time surrounding the classic "hard times" promo. The former WWE writer shared his belief that his friend's idea was dead-on, and now is on board for more struggles in Cody's future on the way to next year's WrestleMania.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestling With Freddie" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.