WH

What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes

WWE x Fanatics Podcasts

Helping Others and Future Plans

From Diamond Dallas PageJun 17, 2026

Excerpt from What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes

Diamond Dallas PageJun 17, 2026 — starts at 0:00

Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify is spepecially designed to help you start, run, and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, markarketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time From startups to scale ups, online, in person, and on the go. Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your one dollar a month trial at shhopify dot com slash setup Hello everybody. It's American Nightmare, Codody Rhodes. Welcome to What you want to talkal about A a Fanatics and WWE original production. and we've got libations here provided by our good friends at Wheatley American Vodka. Today's a special guest today is someone who is family, a friend likes to often say uncle, but I think more brothery, but I'll take uncle. onene of the famous Dusty Five, which is a real deep cut, but My dad always said he only had five friends. He never either named more than five when he would do this or he'd nameam three. So I don't know somewhere between three and eight, so we land on the Dusty five. One of the dusty five here, of course wrestling royalty. He's a former European champion, a former WCW tag champion, a WWE tag team champion and of course big goal itself worldld heavyweight champion. He is also a haul of Fer and someone whoses final chapter, maybe not even final chapter, current chapter in sports entertainment and wrestling has blown everyone away as he has taken Wrestler after wrestler, wayward souls broken, however they came to him and tried to bring them back to where they Once word bring them to where they're going, just beacon of positivity and this intro has gone incredibly long because it's a special person. but Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to what you want to talk about Diamond Dallas page Wow. That was an amazing intro, bro. Well,' sometimes they're not there. Sometimes sometometimes there's too much there. I can't believe this is the first time you've been on here. You and I are extremely close. You are joining me liive round here, Wheatlely American vodka. what do you got? I've got a diamond cutter. Wow I love the ingredients on the screen. I don't know what's in there, but it looks good. I have the Wheatley American mule. Cheers to you. Cheers to you. Cheers to you, by the way. amazing These are live rounds by the way. Yep. they are. There no fake in it here. Where do we begin, right? Where Where do we begin? Be you were born. Yeah.. Well I think one of my first memories, and I've said this before in different conversations about you or with you, but probably one of my first memories which really encapsulates you and encapsulates the life I had growing up It was Jefferson Township F thousand six sixty one JT walking down the steps, my childhood home in Marrietta, Georgia and smoke filled the living room and it was cigar smoke. and I saw my dad in kind of his normal position on the couch and then I saw you in the heat of the summer in May with a full fur coat on the great almost major leeague baseball level outfielder oakly shades that were all the crazed at the time. The wild curly hair, and you were smoking a cigar. And what's funny to me is I ask no questions It was just normal That's what. This conversation looks like, yeah, cigars or you don't see them that often in the living room, but they they're having a good time. Do you remember what you were talking about that day? That's a wild question. You know It really like blew your dad's mind That guy can remember Me and Johnny Be Bad, AK Mark Merrow. had just like finished our Run and he left for WWA. Sure. F contracted guy. Yeah I was gonna to say, big contract The first guaranteed contract. Yeah. They got him a lot of hate. Hey. But everyone's guaranteed now, right? Right. I mean, he started it all. I never understood why they were mad because because a lot of guys were mad But to me, I would be like, that means I can get guaranteed money, yeah Yeah, But again, they had the reons whatever. And Merrow's one of the sweetest human beings on the planet. And I had to segue to him. He you know was talking to kids and really made it like his mission to change as many lives as he could. Yeah. But he no money. there's no money. There's no money in schools, no money in schools. So he came to Atlanta and I had Steve go down with our crew and film him. Yes. And out of it came a video where he's talking about his mom and She was freaking all these seven hundred, eight hundred teenagers. Yeah. They're crying Yeah. And he's hitting him right between right between the heart. That video Go on. That month he had three thousand requests for bookings. Yeah. And he would go on that he can track that over a billion views on that. Yeah. P prettytty crazy. course Steve' storyteller. Well, that's the thing. You mentioned Steve and for context and people watching what do you want to talk about, Steve is Steve you. He is your partner at DDPY. Y and at Comeback Studios Steve E is a storyteller. Great storyteller. He films, he edits, he runs an office. He teaches people to edit. He makes protein ice cream. Unbelievable. He does everything at comeomeback stududios and probably never officially been able to ut put it all out there, but I've definitely talked about it before My time away from WW And my time starting anything on my own is heavily reliant on millions of dollars, and I am not exaggerating, millions of dollars of production that was given to me for free by Steve you and yourself and your wonderful team there and also too the point now where WWE knows and I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. WWE knows in a pinch If they need me to do an interview in a pinch, if they need me via Zoom, if they need me to film something, if they need a place, a studio, that's where they go And u It's u it's I'm glad we've stayed Tethered together. And obviously this this not where I was int We could just talk now I was int go, but I would say it's very important and I've told you before, but maybe I haven't. Thank you. Your weapons and your tool belt You're only as good as the people you have around you. R. And That you know how good WW's production is. too find anyone that has that same skill set or is getting to that skill set or just have that same attitude towards how do we make this good? How does my vision merge with his vision? How do we and to do it in the time that has been spent on me there? than you very much. You're welcome. Nice to be you.. You are family. And Steve took you in right away. Yeah. off course, Nadia You know. And I even got Kimberly. Yeah. I know, right? I always swing by and say hello ' she's in that back office now, but yeah, she yeah, she has her own office now now. Yeah. she's excited about that. She' actually in her front office now. Oh, yeah. Yeah, she took over pages, not my page, but page. We had three pages at one time But not my wife' page. It could be a problem. Yeah.. That's why her name became Merryweather. Yeah. because that was our borne of our bookkeepers. but now Kimberly has her own little hut So DDPY and comeomeback Studios there. what's I think I know the answer, but you were teaching DDPY and teaching elements of yoga. You were teaching out of the studio space itself The larger thing there is what's the mission statement? Is it a and I don't I get the sense that you guys are a space In Smyrna, Georgia, that is all about helping people. You know, giving people hope. Right. Be that's what that is especially after COVID. I mean, during COVID, you know, was so bad, peopleople had lost hope, you know? And they have really low opinions of themselves. overall, they don't believe in themselves. What we try to do more than anything and this is where like right now, we just finished a we're just starting, but you had to be signed up already for Beast mode, which is something Steve created and him and Nadia put it together that This is every day, you know, you're for ninety days here and we're going to follow you. We're going to help you. We're going to push you. We're going to actually make you accountable to you. And what's really the best part There's five things I'm incredibly, incredibly proud of. One is my wife Paige and my girls, you know, of course. and they have to top the list. But then of course it's the three worldor Championships. It's the Hall of Fame. The resurrection of Jake the Snake. But the other thing is that DDP Yoga, and this was not started by me. this was started by my buddy, Chris Gabrilliano. I always say his name wrong, but the Boston bad boy knows who I'm talking about. Yeah. He started it just so that these five people could stay accountable to each other and now there's seventy eight thousand people there And very active. so much so that on the app, I'll put out fabulous Fridays writers grab a story and a story once a week, so their stories are gone so fast, but they're so good that I got to like share it. So it's either me and Steve or me and Naughtie or Steve and Naghtie. And we're giving that, you know, the sel five Yeah, the pat on the back. Like they come there looking for help and they just do the list, like I tell them And if you do the list in its entirety We're going become Cnt Because you're going to be succeeding your goals, but you're also When you start inspiring other people. Har and think about that. You come here looking for hope and if you put the work in, you become the person who's inspiring other people. Yeah What's better than not It's not so much I don't mean it in a pressing sense. I mean it just from Do you know maybe I don't think I've ever asked you. you're well known as being the most positive. And our relationship, I've always saw is rather funny because I am very negative I'm very pessimistic. I taught you how to breathe though. Right. Yeah, you did. That was a helpful thing. It was the thing you taught me was when you hear something you don't want to hear, which is likely what's going to happen, just remember to breathe because reactionary or the fluid and I mean, everything. there was a science behind why you explain and it did put me in a place where That's When you mentioned to me how to breathe in rooms where you're hearing something you don't wan to hear, or you're hearing something that makes you angry, orre you're hearing something that makes you ecstatic One of the things that my character a character trait or a way I like to approach business is I do like to play dumb. So which you are not. But I like to be maybe last in a room to say That's a terrible idea. O that's the best idea. What if we did this? And a lot of it actually stem from the breathing moment because what you do in that moment is you think of what What you really want to say here and not a reactionary statement, but how do you really feel? It gives you that time. So again, it's leaned in that advice you've given me, I've given now and it fills me up in this kind of play dumb thing that I do a lot And it's always better be breathing while you're playing down Playing down may not be the best way to describe it, but I think I've learned that the more quiet you are in the room compared to some of the louder in the room. Right. The louder in the room might not be the one you want to follow, right? Maybe it's the one with the more thought out approach and looking at everyone, you know, looking at it from a different view, But that aside, let me share ' we're talking about breathing. So let me share this with you. And this is what I know for a fact When you're deep breathing and just think of three seconds. And now out for three seconds. The magic number to me is five. When you're breathe in and out for five, it helps you deal with stress and anxiety because you're activating the hypothalamus, which is connected to the pituitary gland in the brain that helps you deal with anxiety and stress due to our physiological effect it has on our nervous system. That's right out of a medical journal. that's on Google, all right? And then it goes on to say when you're deep breathing You personally are sending neurohormones to inhibit the stress producing hormones, which triggers a relaxation in the body. And next time you're feeling anxiety because you feel it, especially as a level you're at I feel it. These guys all feel it When it comes, I challenge you. just By the time you get the five breaths initt and out, I guarantee you because literally. sometimes it gets heavy on me. you know, like thinking just about all the things I'm trying to do at one time Yeah that go to breathing becausecause you're not breathing. The only difference between fear And excitement is whether you're breathing or not. And just, oh God, I'm not breathing. He's right.. Take a breath, breathe and the anxiety will roll off you. that's This science When I was coming back to the WWE at WrestleMania thirty eight, of course, I had my doubts. I thought, is this really the right decision for me? What if I fail? What if it doesn't go how I planned? Choosing to make that leap of faith was clearly one of the best decisions I have ever made If you're starting a business, you might feel the same. So much work goes into this thing that you're not entirely sure will work out. That's why it's helpful to have a partner like Shopify by your side. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and ten percent of all e commerce in the US From household names to brands just getting started. What if people haven't heard about my brand Shopify helps you find your customers with easy to run email and social media campaigns And what if I get stuck Shopify is always around to share advice with their award winning twenty four seven customer support. And did I mention that iconic purple shop pay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world? It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the It's time to turn those what ifs into With Shopify today, sign up for your one dollar per month trial today at shhopify dot com slash cody That Shopify d. com slash Cody. Yeah, that's the science. and obviously you're correct And I'm even saying it you're correct is then like it almost makes me angry that you're correct, but because again, our relationship is so funny. But where I don't know if I've asked this, where does it come from the being positive? And here's I feel like Be here here' here's the thing. We're in the warehouse, right? The warehouse is filled with things I love. I have a hard time not being in a good mood in the warehouse. It's surrounded by the lifeblood of what we do. Right. Now behind us see, this is machos on the mannequin. and this is this is Scott's right over. Oh boy, he love that. He would love that. And so this room, this this this macho, I in the boots. dreams boots Dream boot. So here you are and I'm fast forwarding. I'm moving past it and we'll go back to, you know, because you come in the industry, you're starting at thirty five years old nightclub owner. you have these connections and all this, but get me all the way to Halloween haavvoc. Get me all the way. Is it Halloween havoc? It is With machoan or is a great American Bash? That's all three. It's all. Spring Stampede was the first one. Yeah. That night changed my life. So that tell me that's the one because I don't this may not be the answer to me, but it feels like you at a point when you were in your career ups and downs, maybe more ups and downs than any wrestler had right? I'm another wrestler who had some extreme ups and down. Yeah J ups and downs. You could see little pushes. you could see well, I guess nothing. You could see, right? You could see it. And then here you are, you find yourself and you're wrestling against macho takeake it away It's got to start with One jacket on the side that vest Yeah because Scott and Kev. if they if Scott doesn't take remember got to remember when the NWO which just Scott and Kev, they killed everyone. Ebody. Everybody. Yeah. thenen Hulk comes in And it gets bigger and bigger and they're still killing. No one's touched them. Yeah. So They're not using me I beat Eddie Gu in Halloween haboc only in ninety six, only because Eddie probably jumped thirty feet in the air. and when he came down, the old rib the wh if your ribs, in between your ribs, it's a white muscle, which means there's no blood It hurts to breathe.ight. And he kept going. I never knew he was hurt. And I was going to do something to him and he goes, Diamond Cutter. I go, no,. Diamond Cutter. I was like okay, you'll see me step back. kick out. I'm like this far from the ground One G three I got that huge win, but it didn't mean anything because it wasn't supposed to happen. Right. When I say it didn't mean anything, I'm talking about the booking committee. Sure. So I meanant something to you, but again, like had something to meet.ake time that Eddie would do that. Like Eddie was such it was one of the coolest some betches like Yeah. And so I come up with this idea You go to camp with it And I have no right, as close as we are, I have no right to ask this of you. But it starts with you I have this idea We've been truly, me and him and Scott have been together, not when they were up here, but we still stayed in touch. We were brothers. And I said, Kev I want to do a thing where you guys ask me, you and Scott ask me to be in the NWO. I o, now you want me? number six. Yeah. Yeah, because there's already been six guys in by that time. And I said, because I got the hottest finisher on the planet How about No And I go, and if I did something you guys wanted me to do in real life and I got a heart on about it and because I'm not doing that, you'd go, Dally, he'll get over it. becausecause that's what they would have done. Then they wouldn't have yell, they wouldn't have tried to talk you to it Look get over it. and go, then we do that again a second time And the third time, you guys come out I put the shirt on, I hug you Scott goes to shock, shake by hand, and when he goes to move back pull him in and hit him. Kev, you turn around and go and I'll back you come run at me. I'll backdrop you over the top R. because goes, I want to take the diamond Cutter too. I go, that ain't going to happen Yeah. I go Bing in I but I got to ask Scott, he goes Wait a minute, wait minute. He goes, goo tell Bishchoff right now. We need to make some baby faces and you're the guy. And I said, I gotta ask Scott Kab goes You don't think he remembers. You don't think when his wife was pregnant and nobody would call him back and you created that whole look for him. And Scott used to say, let me tell it, Dally. it would be the same thing. The toothpick, everything, we were leaving Wable House I grabbed a toothpick for me and him and I went, Oh, o, great idea. When you get to the end, we'll both flick the toothpicks see there's the camera And mine fell out of my mouth while I was talking. Yeah No, But it was made for the bad guysy. He signed first time ever did. Bing. So he goes, you don't think he remembers that? Go tell Bishop. I said, I'm not telling Bishoop shit Yeah Bringan, I gott to go ask Scott. I go ask Scott. He goes, I love it, Go tell Bishop. I go, I ain't tell him Bishop anything. I said, Oh, he's gonna let me tell him I want to drop the two hottest guys on the planet So Ban, what was great about that? And nobody had this, but we did, we'd shoot Nitro. And we come right back to the hotel bar And we'd all watch it and drinking and drinking heating. and that's when Kev told him. This is what we want to do. And out of that came March Yeah. And they the booking committee And I understand. Did you have to deal with an actual booking committee? you did have to deal with a committee right? Oh yeah, B Bish was not the guy by himself at the time. Yeah he surrounded himself with a committee. Yeah, well they had it already. Kevin Sullivan Yes, Yes. O you know, Dusty had floated in and out of their. Dusty was more of a consllary to E. you know? Yeah. And if your dad ever would have told me during theber when me and Goldbert were about to face off at Halloween habic two more years after that, if he'd ever told me that he went up to Eric and he was like you know, maybe this is D's night. And because Goldberg was going to be on Entertertainment Weekly and TV guide with the belt on Monday Yeah it didn't happen, but boy, I would have pitched the cock and dropped it back to them on Monday Back over to March. So March gets involved. I have no idea Macho was asked to work with me. Yeah. Like what a trip, man. like and then it was based. I got to back up four months earlier in this I go, Eric, we're having a couple drinks at the Longhorn. and I said, I got something I got tell you. Youere's what's the matter? What's the matter? I go You know, Kimberly's been in Playboy satellite magazines and stuff. Well, they're coming out with Celebrity nudes and we're in it H What? you're in a back I go speack up. I'm not I'm not, I'm not I'm not naked. I'm ting my boots while she's just about to pull on a dress. You know, I'm giving her a massage with a cigar, brringing a towel wrapped around me and I'm massaging her. And it was originally two page shoot. Yeah. They saw it. they loved it. They made it six pages. they asked us to come back and reshoot it He goes, you have a morality clause. You could you could lose your job over this. the morality clause is real. Yeah. For Turner. They're in all contracts now, but very few people ever get brought up Hey, the morality clause. Yeah. Well there there was my and I said, hey I get fired, Maybe Vince will use it. H That becomes the angle They spray painted and the only part of the angle is that that Kimberly is exposed for being my wife Right. So they spray paint the N in the W over the crack of her butt and any nipple action. And so they can open up the magazine and by the boom then she comes out and she's got her dress on and she's all spray painted and her hair's all up bit. So now we are in it. and you know, every week, man it's getting hotter and hotter. Man, it was go from the bottom of the middle of the card. Yeah That's why the booking committee didn't do it on the third week or the fourth or the fifth or the sixth or it was like the eighth or ninth week. And that's only because Kevin said we're doing it tonight A guy owed those cats so much. They changed my life, but we all did together. Yeah. Yeah, we all did together. We always helped each other And we didn't forget And love you bro because it was so strong that he made it happen And the crazy part, the night that I dropped them, I got tell a story. Regan, the night that I dropped them, my time when the match and the angle went from twelve to ten to eight to six to four minutes. Now I'm tripping out. I'm not breathing. I' never I haven't learned to really breathe well yet. Right, right. And I kept finally rolled up. and when Scott went into this routine, his Superman curl I mean, you couldn't even talk to him. L he was becoming faking the bad guy. And Kev could. I was Kev Kv, they're screwing us on the time. was I went off and he goes, Hey, what do you always tell me Breathe And he goes, It's live. What are they gonna do? Go to commercial Yeah, you're right He goes, tellell that J Broon, were going home. So as soon as I head it, boom, boom,, we're going home, didid a little thing about slppy Dot, boom, hit him in to finish, and we did it So those guys made all that happen, which made Mach go, Wow. So now this is my ADD all over the place. I'm going get back to that. is word of the night before payer view And we're at a point now we don't have to touch as you know when you get to that spot But this night, Arn comes in and says, So, what do you want to do much? And every night I'm pretty much getting left laying or I escape with a couple of tiey cutters and get out. But mostly, I'm dead And I'm just figuring I'm dead And March is putting on his boots and he looks up and he goes, H. L I wantanna take the diamond cutter And Harne looked at me and I looked at him and he went Well, I hope you know what this could do for your career, Diamond. And I'm thinking, there's no phones You know, there's nobody filming this is no cameras You're documenting it here. Yeah. Yeah, right. But wow, wouldouldn't that be amazing because just like when World Title you don't believe it til you're walking down the aisle. Yes. And Man. I went out there and he immediately I started doing it, boom. and he laid everything out even more than me. but he changed it all. just beat the shit out of me. and I fought back and he beat me down and he fought back and he beat me down. And then I blew a little comeback. He stopped and he went, goodter Boom, and I could I just laayid there He like he took a shotgun and shot. We laid there. I don't know how long it was, but it was a long time. Like for sure he's going to kick out. They're taking this long, you know, for the smart people out I love that you're you're fully supposed to be in on the know And you don't even as you're crawling over That's amazing. Right. It's like I' just I just literally put l, lay by arm across them. and when it hits three and those people pop It was so loud. Yeah But it was like God put a cone of silence over the two of us, and I could hear him say looking up at the lights going, Well, guess we know what we're doing for Spring Stampede He was testing the water. Sure. Yeah. Wow. Svvy. Wow. Business savvy. what a pro. Also as personally as you probably again, you had your relationship with Kevin and Scott. and that's personal. But this is M just doing it on a professional level This guy is the you know, the word, I don't like this word because it's so poorly used in wrestling, but this guy is getting over. This is happening.. I think we can do something here and all wrestlers are looking to expand upon Is it one? Is it two? Do we do this three times How much can we get of this? This is an incredible, but then during that period of time with you, Macho, the O two three, were you as positive as you are now? or it is it the highs and lows of ADD whereere to come back on the No, no no Summer for me is busy. The WWE has big events coming up which means more travel and late nights. Keeping Aing one in my routine helps me stay consistent when everything else can get unpredictable AG one is a daily health drink with a multi vitamin, pre and probiotics, super foods, and antioxidants One scoop eight ounces of water The N gen formula delivers over seventy five ingredients backed by four clinical trials clinically shown to support gut health fill common nutrient gaps and improve key nutrient levels within three months Late nights, long weekends, spontaneous plans, life happens. AG one helps you keep one thing consistent AG one fits into my daily routine because it's high quality nutritional support Every single day, no matter where you start your morning Visit drinkagy one d. com slash cody to get a free morning person hat and free AG one flavor sampler in your welcome kit with your first Ay one subscription. That's do eighty two dollars value That's sts agG one dot com slash Cody You bring up ADD, but also I only know this because you've always made it a weapon. You've made it a tool. You've made it a positive and not a negative, but AD and dyslexia in terms of you not being able to read. Reading the third grade level page of thirty Yeah. And I'll just give a little clip note there. I ended up going to L.A at one point, as you know.. and I end up in a surfing accident. both of us wiped out into each other. guy named Bill Forte. We become super friends out of it And you're justlected too, you got to go see Rose. She was at the Eris Learning Center in Culver City. She was eighty when she worked with him. She's now still there in eighty five. And I don't mean in ' eighty five, I mean at eighty five years old She said, I took home more homework than anyone ever Because whatever she was doing with all these things was making me be able to focus as opposed to You know, so I started to get better and better. And now probably sixth grade level. but happy to have it. So the positive thing, this is not at all because it's me and him talking First of all, I was very positive my whole life because I made shit happen. I set goals and I hit them. It gave me more confidence. And I realized, you know The glass can either be half full or half empty. Unfortunately, some people don't even have a glass Mine was always half fult. Yeah. But where it really pulled me out of it was watching your dad Because I saw the behind scenes. I'm not gonna name names, but guys who just stabbed him in the back. And I had to breathe through that shit, man And I would say to him, Dusty How do you stay so positive? 'cause this is such an I The only way in the United States is like it's the greatest thing we've ever done and it's the worst shit we've ever been in. And that's just the way it is And Never let them don't never sell it D Stay positive. You're going to make it happen. your back whereround as a manager, your fire breathing dragon manager. You want to be the greatest manager of all time. L this shit he said to me. You know? And I'd watch, Id go man, he is so good And he did and he had some dark times, as you know. Oh gosh. And you know, He taught me a lot, but the biggest one And I gotta do this. I tell the story all the time, but it's my favorite dusty story I am bitching up a storm at late ninety four. so, you know, I'm like thirty eight years old and I'm thisook committee is never going to they're never going to see it at me. I'm like the at the I'm at the top of the bottom at this point And I'm just not going anywhere. no matter how hard I work, no matter what I do And I am just bitching. And at some point I say, you know, Dream, I know I'm never going to be you or Rick or Hulk. I know I'm never going be the world Champion, but these sudden went got it. Eough Never yelled at me before ever That time, he want to shut me up. He said, enough. What did you just say I feel kind of stupid, you know, like, I'm not dream. I know I'm never gonna be you or Rick. I didn't even get hulked out. He goes, No. what did you say after that said, Well, I'm never going to be the world champion. He said, then what the fuck are you doing it for? I don't use that word. Can I use that word? Oh yeah. That's what he said. He said, If you don't believe, be as hard as you work as much time as you put in the business, if you don't believe, How the hell is anybody else going to believe? If you don't believe you need to get the fuck out of our business right now And he kept going But I've already felt like Yeah. that and I was like, whoa You are so right And right next to my answering machine for those of you who are that old, was a pad. I pulled the pad over And I wrote, I will be the world Champion in five years or less It was four years, four months and fourteen days The craziest part is I do a lot of cameos, right? And mostost of them are for people looking to be motivated. M explain. It's not motivation, it's discipline. And explain but I get a lot of those, right? And this is my go to story deepending on what someone wrote me, because this is the most powerful story I have becausecause it changed my life dramatically And I realize That I said to him It's never gonna be you or Rick or Hull. Yeah Yet, on april eleventh, nineteen ninety nine, six days after my forty third birthday, I step in a ring with Rick. And Hwk, ye and the stinger I walk out the world champion didn't realize it uil maybe the fifteenth or fiftieth time I told this story. I wish I had that cameo because you see it rush across my face like a great actor who doesn't have to say anything. but all you need to do is see what He's you can see what he's thinking. discovering ye. Right. And so man It was your dad. He made me go to that next level of belief in myself and staying positive. Like that chokes me up. and I can see in your eyes, it chokes you up too. Well that inner voice. there's something that There's a video it's out there I send it to people every now and then. it's a Gary hardart of all people And manager Gary H, manager Gary Hart and he's talking about Dusty And this is this video is so important to me And people don't understand why. When I send it to them, can I don't think they get why. 'cause I usually send it as my way of letting them know that you're in that territory now. He's talking about Crocket and how it was a wasteland when Dusty got there And the next you know guys went from driving, you know, Hondas with, you know, matching rims that weren't matched They're lined up at the Mercedes. The next you know, they've traded in their duffles for Louis Vuittonsons and then All that wealth and prosperity and when it got bad The same guy they blame for it being good, it's now his fault. R. And he specifically said the words no loyalty. And Haman That's the real reason I can never fully turn the corner on disliking Mr. Heayman because he has the same story So there's this bond over it, but it's also created in me. Maybe it is actually a little bit of the negativity, but it's created in me. It's why I try to document everything Be I'm not having I'm not having any motherfucker rewrite my story and on airbud shit, like y'all weren't there.. I was there. If you need me to be the scapegoat for your bullshit, go ahead, but like you won't do that to me in the same way you did it to him. And he didn't have the luxury Right One of the reasons I love this podcast. I tell people I don't. but one of the reasons I love it is because it's out there.. I can put this out there. You heard it. You know, and o, it's a Cody lie and all that. noody. in this information age, receipts are out there. Does it fit your narrative? No. Is your favorite wrestler not involved, but I was? probablyroably. It's why I amm the way I am. And I'll take it even further. It's why Tel and I are so close Because have you ever seen Game of Thrones? Of course. So Arya Stark says the names. Right. So I'm a lot more diplomatic about it. Tal's not. Right. She'll just cut your throat. She Teal at the end of the day It's hard when I'm like, Hey, I talked to such and such. She's like, Yeahah, I remember what he did to dad. Right. Like o She got like a steel grip memory. but it balances each other out. Right Be that's not my job to carry his H, uh Battles Right If anything, it's my job when I come across with people that me let me change the turf. How are you? You know, like there's been plenty. I remember Honky Tk man went on this whole shoot about Dusty. It's his opinion. He's trying to be entertaining. It's not the end of the world. But when I met him, I made sure I was the nicest person to him Right Be whatever that was, it's ending right now.ight. He ain't working with you and I'm not working with you either. Right. So but I think I'm just kind of it's uncovering it as you're talking about it, but He was like you in that nothing could shake him And I don't know, it's because it was so much at one point, so much blame, so much this, so much that that finally becomes, you know what? You're going to be the best manager. You're going to be the world champion because he really did have that.. You could and the same thing happens at comeback Studios People come to you with the most unreasonable shit. and they come to you, sorry, there's a lot of cursing on this one, I. But they come to you, people that maybe I don't even like And that their story is rough and their climb back is going to be tough. But you always you never let anyone go out of there thinking they can't do it. You never tell anyone like I don't think so, buddy. I don't think so. And I that's just amazing There an't enough of that in wrestling. and Dusty was the same way. You somebody tell him the most ridiculous thing? Yeah, I think you can do it. Yeah. I remember there was a guy who was a janitor talking about becoming an astronaut. And I couldn't believe that when my dad was like, I don't know about like Is there a school, like an astronaut school or a book? There You guys are guys are actually talking about those like guys start smaller. Like I don't want to knock this guys, but I'd sit in a lot of those rooms or in the car when he'd be talking to people and thinking like That's just a skill. That's just like just I don't know if maybe I never knew him when it was so bad And it's later in life, which is why Tel and I carry it forward, you know? L maybe I didn't know him well enough to know what happened. But by the time I got to him, literally you could do anything. Like And that's, you know, you're around and yourre prime example. He didn't lie to you. You know? And maybe that's the thing about positivity. You're not lying to anybody because it's on you. Right. It not You're not lying to anybody to tell them, I think you can do that. because again, you had mentioned if they just do the work if you work if you just do the work, which is why we're all over the place here. There's going to be a second half of this I'm sure. but it's why when you sent me to Howard Feine Howard Feine Aing Studio which is so important. And every day that goes on, I realize how much I got out of just, you know, twelve months right his life But he loved you too. and love bring you in. I know you did and to bring you into the inner sanctum Like I'll just call him once in a while go what's up, H? Yeah, shit shit. Can I tell you can I make a confession about Howard that he's it's probably time for him to hear. You know, Barney his Corgi? Oh. I used to walk Barney around the I knowar I don't think Barney Barney's passed on, but I used to I used to walk Barney around the studio and I'm from Georgia. We're not picking up dog shit. You know what I'm saying? likeike dogs just it's we're the south. That's not no bags. That's not a thing. And I was now I'm in L.A, you know or where it's a thing Right where it's a thing. So I would do full blown Memphis wrestling Barney would go to the bathroom, I'd look around, see if anyone was looking. If I saw someone looking, I'd take the bag, hold it high up, I'd sweep the ground, nothing in it. And then I'd go put I might as well have just done it, but I was like, I' not but I'd make a big wrestling Pants. Look guys, I got it just in case I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. but Baron S Kluna when he would go in. Yeah the Yeah but knuckles Yeah, literally that you gott to let him see. We're just talking to Jimmy Hard about it. He threw a chain at Jerry Lawler for him to get and he threw it in a way that it hit and it could have gone backad because he threw it straight. You're meant to do the right the b roob up. I used to do on When I was doing ring of Honor stuff I used to try and turn on turn it on its ear and I'd say, Hey, Brandy, throw me the gimmick as loud as possible. So the ref would be like this and the guy would throw it in and the ref would I saw it all. And as he went to get it, I'd kick the guy in the balls.ight. So it was a little like haa Turn to into ear here a little bit Big news. WWE and sports fans, the world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest is making its return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the leagueues, teams, superstars and athletes you love across four action pack days in July Meet your favorite WWE superstars, getet your hands on exclusive merch and interact with the biggest names in sports Tickets are on sale now and fans of the podcast can use code Cody Tin at checkout for ten percent discount. Head to fanaticsfest dot com to get your tickets today All your positivity, this is something that Steve you, who we've spoke about We talk all the time offline about you and he's so positive and he likes this guy and And what do you think about this? and He said one time to me something, he said, you try so many things out health wise health wise, that in the end it's beneficial Because if ten out of those health things, if eight of the ten worked, right, you were off you were if two of them were nonsense Which I have to bring up a moment that I have never brought up to you about what I would call is perhaps voodoo Voodoo. Okay You told me on my birthday that you were gonna take me to a special doctor. 'cause you know that my body is not great, but I don't tell anyone. And you know things are what they are. So you're gonna take me to the special doctor I think you're just going to take me to a chiropractor and you would have been better off just taking me to a chiropactor because at least the noise happens. Oh, that was great. You took me to this guy no names and He was a chiropractor and he did adjust me. But before he adjusted me, Dallas He said I think you've got an aversion to corn And I thought, okay. And he goes, I think you do. So he grabb my hand and goes, squeeze my hand. I squeeze his hand. This is very important when I tell you next. He goes, All right, He takes a vial of corn.. He holds it over my body It's not touching me. It's a vial. He holds it over my body. He goes, squeeze my hand again. Dallas squeeze his hand and there was no difference. There wasn't a single difference. And he goes, yeep, corn And I was looking at you in the corner and you were just going Mm. And I thought, I know so much of what he does is right. but this someone say something. And then he held it over my stomach. He goes,m Push your foot Push it, push your foot again push it, same Ah, it's the corn. Dude, like it was it was I left and I immediately I forget when I walked into the house, who was there, but I said I have to tell you Like that like it was a comple like I know it worked for you for know it worked for you. And I appreciate you taking me on the ride, but it is it is one of the moments where I thought that's just I love him too much to let him know that that was a shaman. It wasn't real. It was like a mad but maybe it was. I don't know, but that's that aside things that don't work, something that's clearly does work and not You have the footage and you've been so kind to never show anybody. your power cuffs, right? Yeah. Okay, so you've got these cuffs, the power cuffs, they're amazing. Look up just look up any of DDP's socials and you'll see what the powercuffs do. You had me do a workout with them And I did not have enough gas in the tank I gave up midway through without giving up, without tapping or saying, I'm done. And you could tell I couldn't do anymore. I cut back. And you just said, we're not going to use any of this. whichich is a rare you use everything. not if you don't look good. But you for me were like We're not going to use any of this. And I thought, well, you know, I don't know what it was, but they do work. They do work. Yeah, I told you my inebriated power power story. It's time. It's time It's time. Um Wrestleania thirty nine' in L.A. Right. It's my first time in the main event of WrestleMania. Y. I am so excited It's so F. this brand new, unbelievable stadium. mayaybe the greatest stadium in current out there, justust unbelievable place to see a game, to see a show, all these things. It's Roman Reigns, the greatest WW main eventor as far as WrestsellMane goes in history. It's myself. It's a whole story. It's true. Every piece of this is true. Trying to win the title that Dusty didn't have, all that I mentioned earlier about the no loyalty All that loaded up. man, I'm bringing that to this game. But I was really nervous about everything. I had said yes to every appearance. I had John Coh and Talent relelations had taken me everywhere. But I really was scared. I was nervous. I was anxious. West Coast S show, So it's going come quick. Sure. So I needed to sleep. I needed to sleep So I took something that would help me go to sleep. That's the best way to put it. is pretty nebulous, but I took something that helped me go to sleep And then I was just drifting off And I smelt burning. And right. And I looked on the lamp above my sink on my bus and I had put one of the power cuffs on the lamp. and I burned through it. So it was like not the end of the world. I was going to use them the next day to pump up, but I like didn't know what to do. So I burned it and threw it away. you know next year the fire happens. So there's no fire U but I burned it. But the funny part was the next day you told me, you're like You ready Yeah, Yeahah, I'm ready. you know, And you're like, yeah, I feel good. Yeah.'s like And then you go, you got your cuffs. And I just went, yeah. Yeah, I got them. I got it. But it took me like three months to reveal I need new cuffs because of this situation before WrestleMania thirty nine. And then WrestleMania forty U you completely sobered me up, not in any sense, but you did something so funny that I'll never forget it. And I it's you're always part of we do big WrestleMania. Right. WrestleMania is what brings my family together. You know, one of the whys for why I want to be in a great spot on it and why I work as hard as I would like to work is because I want them to come in April and know that the Rhodad's name matters, you? So the family all comes. We do the big dinner and we do all that stuff U but you you were texting me, it's kind of like the day of my wedding and you texted me all these questions and I'm thinking, there's someone else who can answer these questions, right? Like Brian somebody answered Dallas's questions, right? I want Dallas taken care of. He needs to be there, but I can't be and then you come on the bus And I'm in my under trrunks. I'm in my under trrunks and you have your beautiful new wife there with you. So already we know each other now on like an intimate level. I'm like in my under trrunks. and u I'm thinking, I got to go inside. It's time to go to work and you're just like, Hey, You any coffee? Yeah. Yeah, I got coffee. This is not hard. Turn coffee machine on. So I got to turn the coffee machine on. and you said, u what do you got in the fridge? What kind of milk? You got like any oat or almond? or what a healthy options do you I don't know. I don't know. So like the next thing you know, I'm like the barista for you. And I thought like I wouldn't have it any other way. I wouldn't have it any other way. because Dustin also comes on the bus and Dustin and I had a shorter interaction, but I feel like Those are my favorite stories that come out of WrestleMania. Those are my favorite my favorite moments. But yeah, that one made me laugh ' I think Brandy was like, hey guys, I think he's gott to go inside and get ready. And I'm just pouring creamer. like I don't know. man, but it's not like you're in the main event of WrestleMania, bro. No, but it was And we had done it back to back and you you also really hit to That Wrestlemania thirty nine, you asked me the question I didn't want to answer. I remember I didn't want to answer it. I didn't want to answer. You said, what happens if you lose? No, I said, is it really matter it really matter if you do the job this time? Yeah. 'cause the fans want it so bad. And you go, what if we lose momentum I go, what if you don't? Yeah, but you're not wrong, but that's crazy gambling. You know what I mean? Like when you say stuff That paid off in space. Yes. But when you say stuff like Uh It's either going to be the worst thing that ever happened you or the best thing that ever happened to you The problem is you know what that means. You know like, great, I'm going make this awful situation the best thing that ever happened to me. It That's what you do though I do I try. no, no. that's what you do. And when you find you'll lose a little bit of that shit, when you just say, No, that's what I do Yeah Be that's what he did. Yeah. That's what he taught me to do. Yeah. And I'm just giving you back third generation. for sure. You know. Here's something that I've adopted at backstage and the unreal cameras have they've seen me say it enough that I feel like they now know what I mean But we run in all these situations where it's Wrest ofMania this year, for example, are The title change in Germany and let's pivot. let's make some different moves and all this. And oh, there's a lot of momentum behind Drw. People love Drew and as they should. he's awesome. I always tell people because people will say, I don't know if that's good for you or you know and I don't know if I mean it arrogantly. I think I just mean it from my own experience. But what I tell them is I can survive it. That's what I tell everyone. Michael Hayes has heard me say it a lot. Mr. Hayman's heard me say it a lot, is I can survive it You know what I don't know if that's good or bad, but I felt like as a baby face, it's becoming a powerful trait. The great all of this This all this is a lot, guys. You know what? I can survive it. You know what? I love that scene is set Just be you. Oh yeah. in the ring. That was powerful That's a powerful Tld me in the ring. Yeah. powerful Yeah statement, bro. That's what that is. that's that's a guy who's been there and and I I never understood when people didn't like Cena Tal his ass off. Yeah Wors great. Yeah does whatever it takes. I mean, I got a lot of respect for that cat man. When I saw him do Fringing the Spce. I was like, this guy's different level. Yeah. He's different level. He something he said to when we came out for Aania, but also for Sumers sllam He said he was saying Don't worry about them. They'll be making noise all night. Don't worry about them. which I didn't feel like I needed to hear it at the time. But then I did. you know, And that's what made it more special to me was Has he ever had to tell anyone this? Because he's always been the one having to do that. Right. Now he's telling someone, donon't worry about them O, there's responsibility in that. There's power in that. Like I don't mind at all. someomebody one of my peers kind of took a shot at me the other day and I was like, oh, is this seen as your mentor? And I thought Yeah. Yes, A is the answer, but I'm not mad that you know that. I'm not mad that's oh my, what a bad one to have, right? R Oh my, you know, greatest of all time, seventeen and continuing to have another chapter now And a heelv an actor. Yeah, heel actor. But here here's the thought is another chapter, you are the king of the next chapter. And there's always something. could we could talk about, you talked about the resurrection of Jake the Snake.. You talked about, you know, if you look at what you did with Butterbean, if you look at what you did with people who aren't from our world, who aren't famous And all you have to do is again, follow all these socials and you'll see these positivity stories, these accountability stories and things of that nature. You, uh You You've brought so many guys back And why why is it it is it a sense of you owe it? You know, is it brrotherhood or is it what's right? Wanna pay back? Yeah. I gotta tell you about your dad. Yeah. whichich didn't happen But the way it happened was so dusty He said, you know, I was talking about it. It's in the beginning of me doing this, you know? And I really wanted to just help him feel better. Yeah. you know. And he said, Well, if we're gonna to do it, we're gonna to do it right. We're gonna use the Youu we're gonna to film it. We're gonna do YouTube stuff. YouTube. But he fgin went on a like rant of doing like, I'm gonna do this. I w to do it with you You got it, we're gonna to do it. And the next day call me back, Deth couldouldn't take it. There was cheesecake in the refrigerator. And when I went downstairs I ate the whole thing, notot doing it. cllick I just left it at that. for Jake. Yeah He was ready Yeah. And that's the only reason it happened. Scott became ready because he saw Jake ready. Yeah. And but I wanted to call the resurrection of Jake the Stake and Scott Hall. and he was like, Yeah. Yeah. this is Jake's thing and I'm not dr. I don't wantan to drink right now. I don't wantna drink. I like the way I'm feeling. I'm getting healthier, but he wasn't ready yet He was never going to be ready Yeah. So once I realized that I said, Okay You gott shows. Yeah. You can't show up drinking. Yeah. So we gotta trick you down So you can't just stop drinking. You got to taper off. And he taught me that. I didn't know And so what he would do is he'd start tapering down before each time, you know, that he would go out, then he'd come home, he might not drink. he might. I just I just couldn't believe how good he came back every time. Yeah. Like he was he was the movie star. He may be like the best looking guy ever in our business, Great body. and everything, wit, quick wit And he wait, you know, for and he just slide that thing and it pop everybody. Yeah man. he I'm more amazed and more excited when every time I think about Jake, he's been fourteen years sober. and Jake did not like the resurrection of Jake, the snake. He liked it. He loved it for what the journey was. but he didn't w want to see it all the time. Of course not. Wh wants to see themselves in that condition I um I want to bring this up because I know we we probably got a we've probably got to wind up here with you. Definitely let's just this is a this this team, we love doing this. Let's just do part two. G sounds good. Let's just sounds good partart two. We can do it close. We can do it at the factory or we can even do it right there in Steve E's house Are you ready to hold WWE history in the palm of your hand? TopPs is bringing you closer to the action than ever before with WWE Tops now. highlighting the biggest matches and milestones from WWE shows and PLEs throughout the year. Cops now is enhancing the fan experience by connecting collectors to the superstars and spectacles that ignite their passion Featuring stunning event exclusive photography, each card is made for the moment. And for some lucky collectors, that moment could become the pull of a lifetime. Along with serial numbered parallels, some top s now releases offer a chance at rare short prints suuperstar autographs and even pieces of the matte, gear are other items used during the featured match. So Which moment will you collect With each card only available for a limited time, you won't want to wait to begin your topS now journey Be sure to subscribe to WWBTops Now mailing list on tops d. com and follow TOs on all social media platforms so you never miss a single moment You brought something up. I want to I did a contract recently. It's not anything major, life changing. but This is really good. because Ied say that. Our friends at Wheatley are indeed our friends at Wheatley. I did this contract recently and I put in the end I said, I just want to select a legend for the TVC portion. You want to what? I wanted to select the legend. I wanted to be able to put someone from the Hall of Fame group or one of our legend guys. And I've come to realize my only answer for why's because it's the right thing to do And I don't know why, but it's more than ever. Maybe it's being here often. I've been in Stanford more than ever. moreore than ever, it's got me to this. It's the right thing to do. and you lead the charge on it's the right thing to do. R. So almost you know It's almost not worth exploring why, the fact that it's being done and the fact that it's been done you know, Scott, Jake, Lex, Hall of Fame, just an amazing situation and The wrestling business, and I don't know if I can speak on behalf of the wrestling business, but probably someone who maybe thanks you Those guys all thank you. The families all thank you. No doubt but thank you because you've given time, you've given you've given a clarity. you've given final chapters and you're just now in a chapter two. Before we go into the two games, I do just want to briefly, if I can ask about because we're okay. we're okay I brief ask you about DDP European tour. Oh yeah. Yes, DDP European tour. My boy, Sebastian. I don't know the name of his wrestling show, but I had such a great interview with him. Yeah. It made me want to go back to Germany, which I was just there for Christmas. Sebastian who works with this WWY seeen Germany actually that's does he? Yes, great. Oh loveash. I I did not know that. G good guy. But what a great guy And a we had a great time on the interview. We have a a meet and greet and Q and A and the VIP dinner is already sold out and haven't really told anybody yet. And I'm doing that in Germany. and then I don't remember what the name of the Cub is the gym where we're doing a DDPoga workshop on sixteenth. So fifteenth and sixteenth, I'm actually coming in on the fourteenth. Paige is going to be climbing the Dolomites in Italy. Wow and then flying in to meet me for the Q and A and then the workshop we're going to do. And then we're going up into the Alps for a couple days so she can climb some more mountains. And then we're flying in are you familiar with inside the Rpes? Yeah, of course Kenny, right? I'm the first one he ever did. And I didn't. I knew I was one of the early ones, but I didn't realize I was the first. So we're going fly into Glasgow and I'm going to do the twenty first. I'm doing a Q and A and meeting greet for Kenny. thenen we're driving that night to Manchester for the twenty second and we're going to do a Dy Kapil workshop in Manchester the next night in London, or should say day. And when you're doing a workshop, it isn't like a workout It's like you walk in, you put your mat down, and then you come right to me and page and you can say hello, take some pictures. thenen we get into it. And when I do any kind of workshop, I'm doing Yeah, inspiration meets perspiration. I've seen them. it's Yeah, you're getting more no pun attended bang for your buck than anybody in terms of you're giving them so much. Well we'll put it up for all the cities. And then we'll be in London for a Q and A there and meet and greet. with inside the ropes Our friends at Wheelley have a very fun jingle. I'm going to play this for you and then I'm going to ask you to replace a word. A word? Yeah. Vodka as good as an American you So good Wheatlely's so good I drink it neatly. If you could replace the word neatly with any word, what would it be? Oh my God I mean, it's right there. It's right there. S it again Well no, wheatley so good I drink it neatly and you're taken out neatly. What would DDP do, right Wheatley so good I drink it Comtely Yeah, completely works. but I also I feel like you could go and I saw someone shouted that one and Wheatlely so good I drink it, bang. Oh you. I would say Wheatley so good I drink it. I can't report but for you, it's I'm gonna gohe and give you yours positively Because that is everything. I am I cannot shake you. You are the most positive human being. It's amazing. I never it's the best. and everyone who talks about you, you can't be shake. You just it's I can be shake. I can be shook. Yeah I just breathe. Yeah get shakaking out. Myself, wheatly American vodka, like to consider ourselves the dream team and I always ask everybody, who's on their dream team? And sometimes easier to say, hey, going into a war games match, four or five people But really it can be whoever. Wh is with you? You know, we talked about in the beginning in the introduction the Dusty five. That probably would have been his dream team. Who is on DDP's dream team? All errors. All erras. Oh, Dusty for one. Superstar Billy Graham

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