The following editorial was written by Dominic DeAngelo and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Dominic’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @DominicDeAngelo.
Saturday’s G1 Special wasn’t just an opportunity for New Japan to further showcase itself in the United States, but it provided fans of wrestling history an optimistic look into the crystal ball by the presence of Haku and Cody Rhodes. Both have their ties to the business’ past and both were at the forefront of a newsworthy weekend in wrestling.
Which is great because history is told by the people in power and people in power aren’t always accurate or honest. That goes for the textbooks in your eighth grade social studies class and it certainly applies to professional wrestling. WWE tries to scribe its own narrative as to how they’ve championed and mainstreamed the genre, and while they can be right in some regards, Vince McMahon’s “Monster Among Promotions” only tells probably one third of the real story. The popularity of the territory days (and even the Monday Night War eras) either fade into the memories of those fans in attendance or get archived on the WWE Network for said fans to reminisce, or perhaps for new ones to latch onto (hopefully). Nonetheless, WWE is the kingdom that hands out the bread to sustain the masses; whether it’s for the benefit of globalizing the product or the detriment of the casual fan’s perspective on how wrestling was made and should be told.
The Rhodes family, past and present day, are the checks to those balances.
Let’s go back to 2013 when the brothers (accompanied by the Dream, daddy) won the WWE Tag Team titles from The Shield at WWE’s October Battleground PPV. The fan reception that the family received in that match and in victory displayed the value of what remembering history and legacy can do.
However, the talons of control were already sunken in by that time. With one “off-the-script” hand lift by Dusty in the face of a heelish Stephanie on an episode of Raw, the Rhodes’ legacy started to get the WWE rewrite. From then on, Dusty’s on-air time was limited and his voice was silenced, Cody as a character abandoned his father and was turned into a face-painted mid-carder while Goldust went the way of a comedy act. The Rhodes family reunion was a hot act, but WWE dumped water on it in favor of flexing power. Then Dusty passed away and was admirably honored by the company. Even so, anything honoring “The American Dream” that’s heralded by Vince will get you an eyeful of polka dots rather than the black trunks and cowboy boots which made the “Son Of A Plumber” famous. (To their credit, NXT does a better job at commemorating Dusty for his NWA work).
Despite that, the Rhodes family continues to pursue that wrestling American Dream through several channels: particularly influence, innovation and reinvention.
Dusty’s legacy will always carry on, but it is unbridled when you consider his immense star power and influence over several generations, especially the impact he made as a mentor and promo extraordinaire in NXT. With that, the late great Dusty Rhodes stands in a class of his own.
Dustin represents the constant. He followed in the footsteps of his famous father as “The Natural,” but went for more ambiguously bizarre pastures in his initial run as Goldust. He now enjoys a remarkable career renaissance in his role as the seasoned vet on the WWE roster (although I’d argue extremely underutilized – an article on that to come in the near future).
And Cody now champions the brighter horizons for the mainstream alternative. With his choice to leave the WWE combined with his wrestling aptitude on both sides of the ring and the sellout success of Chicago’s All In, the youngest Rhodes has made himself an attraction akin to a Roddy Piper or Undertaker in that he looks like a champion, but doesn’t need a belt to get over (don’t believe me then watch the G1 Special against Omega). ROH or New Japan, his presence on a card only boosts the promotion and adds to the allure of the card. He, like several others of his Elite colleagues represent something that the older demographic wants to see from its professional wrestling, something they are not typically getting from those fateful three hours every Monday evening. Cody has made it clear that he has lot of irons in the fire and he doesn’t want to be the only one benefiting from it.
Wrestling family dynasties has always been close to the heart of business, but it is even better when it is helping that heart beat. Thankfully we still have the Rhodes for that.
