The two sons of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes first feuded back when both were working for the WWE in 2015. But many fans felt the rivalry ended before it could really take off, as what seemed like a promising midcard match for that year’s WrestleMania was cut short after just one pay-per-view bout. Cody left the company by requesting his release in May 2016, while Dustin didn’t confirm he had left the WWE until late April.
In a promo released weeks before the match, Cody explained Saturday’s match was more about a battle between generations than between two brothers.
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“And this notion of brother vs. brother, of ‘Natural’ versus ‘Nightmare,’ it’s all very marketable, it’s all very romantic, albeit not very accurate,” Rhodes said. “What’s accurate is that this match is generation versus generation. I am not here to kill Dustin Rhodes, I am here to kill The Attitude Era. My entire lot, my whole class of peers has been compared to these gilded late 90s to early 2000s [wrestlers] for over a decade, and it’s an utter sham. Sure, you paved the roads for us, but gosh you set the speed markers at 35 because you are terrified of any of us putting our f–ing foot down on the pedal.”
That wasn’t the only reference to WWE in the match either, as Cody made several, we’ll call them homages to WWE before the match. The most notable one was heading to a throne with skulls and bashing it with a sledgehammer, which you’ll recognize if you’ve watched a Triple H match. Also blood, lots of blood.
It was certainly memorable, and a great way to keep the momentum at Double or Nothing.
