Dustin and Cody Runnels, the sons of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes, will induct their legendary father into the WWE Hall of Fame this Saturday, the night before WrestleMania 23. Cody, who is wrestling in WWE’s developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling, says the opportunity to have his sons induct him into the Hall of Fame will make a proud moment that much more poignant. “To him, it [the Hall of Fame] is a bigger deal than he’s letting anybody know,” Cody told WWE.com. “He and I, we’re like best friends, we’re really close. But he and Dustin, they’ve had their rifts here and there. So for us to be together – if ultimately he were to say, ‘I don’t want anything further to do with pro wrestling,’ this would be a wonderful way to cap it off.”
As documented by WWE programming in the past, Dustin – who wrestled for WWE as Goldust – and Rhodes have had a rocky relationship and were estranged for a time. But they have mended their fences over the years. Cody expects their father’s induction to be an emotional moment for both men. “We’re a highly emotional family. I’d expect some waterworks” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see if we can just get through it [without crying]. I’m just so happy Dustin is getting to do this.”
Cody is honored that his father asked him to induct him into the Hall of Fame but also sees this as an opportunity to introduce himself to WWE fans. “There’s no better way to establish everything that’s been done, everything that Dustin did as Goldust, everything that the American Dream did, than to be on the stage together,” he said. “There’s no better way [for me] to be brushed into the spotlight. Someday, I want to be on one of the three shows [Raw, SmackDown, ECW] and there’s no better way to say, ‘Hi, he had another kid and that’s me.’”
The WWE 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air on USA Network at midnight/11 CT.
