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Cody Rhodes Honors Legendary Father After WWE SmackDown At MSG (VIDEO)

By John Canton • Published 29th June 2024
Cody Rhodes with Undisputed WWE Championship belt on his shoulder

Cody Rhodes made sure to pay tribute to his WWE Hall of Fame father Dusty Rhodes in front of the vocal crowd at Madison Square Garden.

It was an eventful night at WWE Smackdown in New York City for WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & Kevin Owens. The trio, who is teaming up together at Money in the Bank, got into a big brawl with The Bloodline to start the show.

The brawling between Cody, Randy & Kevin, and The Bloodline was so chaotic that it led to Owens putting Tonga Loa through a table. Cody, Randy & Kevin also beat up the security guys that Smackdown GM Nick Aldis brought down to ringside. That led to Aldis bringing out police officers, who made Cody, Randy & Kevin leave the building in a car.

After Smackdown aired, Cody Rhodes did an in-ring promo talking about the one time his father held the old version of the WWE Championship in MSG before it was taken away because he did not beat “Superstar” Billy Graham that night to win the title.

“I mentioned it earlier when we came out here. I had a different plan in mind for my return to The Garden. Because it is not just my return to The Garden. For those of you who know this story, this is where it all began. In the late ‘70s, my father, ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes traveled to New York City to wrestle ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. He was a country boy from Austin, Texas, and for some reason, you guys just loved him.

“Anyways, in this fabled match, Dusty Rhodes defeated ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. He grabbed what would become this WWE Championship. He climbed that buckle over there, and he held it up. But moments later, they took it away from him.

“It’s okay, this story has a happy ending. I was eight years old, I saw the picture of this title. I knew nothing about the ins and outs of pro wrestling and sports entertainment. All I knew was I wanted to win that title for him. I had always planned on saying the silliest thing to him, but I just wanted to tell him that nobody can take it away from you now.

“So like I said, if you’ll indulge me, I am gonna climb that buckle because I wanna hold up the WWE Championship, but if I could, my cousin [WWE timekeeper] Berkley, you got something in your hands over there? I will trade you.”

Cody Rhodes Old WWE Title

Following his speech to the crowd, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Cody spent 30-45 minutes going around ringside to take photos and sign autographs with fans.

Cody Rhodes Not Defending WWE Championship At Money In The Bank

Since winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes has defended the championship at three straight WWE PLEs with two victories over AJ Styles and a win over Logan Paul. At Money in the Bank on July 6th, Cody will be in a six man tag team match with Kevin Owens & Randy Orton against three members of The Bloodline group that includes Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa.

The updated Money in the Bank lineup looks like this.

* World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins

* Men’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: Jey Uso vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade vs. Chad Gable vs. LA Knight vs. TBD.

* Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline – Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa (They did not specify what three members will be in the match)

* Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker

* Women’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: IYO SKY vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi vs. TBD.

H/T Fightful