WWE star Cody Rhodes has wrote a heartfelt letter to his late father WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, which was posted on his wifeās blog, BeingBrandiRunnels.com.
Below is an excerpt from the letter:
Right outtaā the gate, thank you Brandi Runnels. Thank you for letting me utilize your groovy blog to share a few thoughts with followers of the Rhodes Familyā¦our family, and thank you for the chance that somewhere & somehow my Father will be able to hear what Iām saying.
And secondly, there is such a thing as too much deathā¦too much melancholyā¦too morbid of a discussion, and for those who donāt want to engage in that; I suggest you read this no further and enjoy the rest of your day or night. No offense taken.
So where do we begin?? Why did I even want to become a professional wrestler?? Hereās something I only ever shared with my employer, not even Dadā¦
It was a picture.
ā¦a picture that used to adorn the mantle in my parentsā bedroom at our olā Marietta home. The bedroom with a ākingā bed that was the size of a Manhattan apartment. Itās a picture of Dusty Rhodes holding up the then WWWF Title(world wide wrestling federation). The picture was taken on September 26 1977 in the worldās most famous arena Madison Square Garden. Dad had told me about Studio54, he and Mom hanging out with Warhol and other luminariesā¦he told me about the cops on horsebackā¦the broadway nights, but as far as little seven year old me was concerned, I was confusedā¦I was confused because my Dad never was the WWWF Champion.
So he told meā¦āchampionās advantageāā¦Daddy had won the contest by count-out, and the title cannot change hands on a count-out or disqualification. They took it from him.
So I knew, I knew at seven years oldā¦I knew what my job wasā¦what the mission was.
And of course, I became obsessed with pro-wrestling, I tried to be an insufferable know-it-all when it came to the history and the holds. But the mission didnāt change.
It was to win the title we now call The WWE World Heavyweight Championship. To put it on his shoulder while he sat in the front row with my Mother and Sisters, and I would tell him āwe get to keep it this time and you were rightā¦it is realā
So that dream, it dies with you Dream. I didnāt get it done.
As Tom Paris would sayā¦āno hopes, no disappointmentsā