WWE Star Cody Rhodes Discusses Living Up To His Family's Legacy

Coming from such a long line of wrestling greats, there is a lot of pressure on the shoulders of "The American Nightmare." Cody Rhodes is, of course, the son of legendary WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, as well as the brother of AEW star Dustin Rhodes, who has had his own decorated career spanning five decades. To follow in the footsteps of two men like that isn't easy, but Cody is doing everything he can to forge his own path.

During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Rhodes was asked about his father's legacy, as well as what he would have told his son regarding his attempt to "finish the story" in the main event of WrestleMania.

"I want to be better," said Rhodes. "That's what my dad would have expected. That's what he would have wanted. My dad never got to be in the main event of a WrestleMania. I know he wanted to be. If I ever get the chance to see him again, that's something we'll discuss. I'm going to do everything I can to fill his footprints and make an even bigger one, which is far easier said than done."

Not only did Rhodes' father never get to main event WrestleMania, but he only wrestled one Mania match, a mixed tag team affair at WrestleMania VI in 1990 that saw "The American Dream" and Sapphire defeated Queen Sherri and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Cody's brother Dustin faired better than their father, wrestling at seven WrestleMania events between 1996 and 2016, but Cody already has him beat — assuming he competes at WrestleMania 40 in April, he will take his personal tally of Mania matches to nine.

Please credit "Sports Illustrated" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.