AEW's Dustin Rhodes Explains Why His Father Didn't Want Him To Wrestle

WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes left behind major shoes to fill, but even so, his sons — Dustin and Cody — almost always only have great things to say about their father, with Cody especially becoming emotional while just mentioning him.

However, the wrestling business used to take a massive toll on families back in Dusty's heyday, and because of that he didn't want his eldest son, Dustin, to follow him in his footsteps.

By now, fans know that Dustin went against this, and has since forged a nearly 40 year career, and in an appearance on the "Unbreakable" podcast, he looked back at his disagreements with his father about wrestling. "My dad didn't want me to break into the wrestling business," he recalled, adding that he was great at football, but his school grades were terrible. "I did have a heart to play football, but I wanted to be a wrestler more, and he didn't want me to be."

Dustin further recalled that his parent's divorce could've been one of the reasons why Dusty didn't want him to become a wrestler, and that his father just wanted a better life for him. "I loved my father, I loved him to death — we did have a falling out, you know, but that was — we got back together, not many years before he passed, but it was hard," he recalled.

Dustin then pointed out how his father's second wife and their children, Cody and his sister, had a different experience with him, and "got everything" he and his sister didn't from Dusty. "It was tough, but it is what it is," he noted. "When I did start in the business, I was around him constantly, so it was good to be close to him. But then I ran into that downward spiral and I didn't give a s**t for years, and it nearly killed me."

But Dustin then admitted that he would start his career in Dusty's shadow, which presented another set of challenges. "People think: oh, Dustin had the easy road to get into the business. It's actually 100% the opposite." He then noted how Dusty sent him to train with Eddie Graham, which wasn't easy, but allowed him to cultivate a love for the industry before his father brought him into the NWA.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Unbreakable" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.