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Cody Rhodes Would Not Have Betrayed WWE ‘Had Dusty Been Alive’ [MSL-Sullivan]

By Aric Mitchell
Published on: 02:19 PST, May 28, 2016

Cody Rhodes is still making headlines for the way he left the WWE.

The former Stardust and son of the late Dusty Rhodes caused quite a stir when he posted a long explanation to social media that was none-too-flattering of the writing talent behind the Raw and Smackdown brands.

This previous report from the Inquisitr highlights just how angry the Stamford, Connecticut-based company got when they read what Cody Rhodes had to say.

While fans have been largely accepting of the second generation superstar — seeing his plight as validation for what they’ve been criticizing the WWE for the last couple of decades — others, like wrestling legend Kevin Sullivan, were not as supportive.

On a recent episode of the MSL/Sullivan podcast via MLW Radio, Sullivan lamented that what Cody Rhodes did was essentially a betrayal of the business.

“I can’t help thinking this would not have happened had Dusty still been alive,” Sullivan said, adding that Rhodes “isn’t going to cure cancer” and that most wrestlers have an inflated sense of how good they really are — “even the best.”

Cody Rhodes’ frustration with the WWE stemmed from their not allowing him to leave behind the face-paint and the Stardust character.

Rhodes felt like he had more to offer than what he was being allowed to show and saw himself as a guy who belonged at the top of the card.

Many fans were not in disagreement with this, remarking how every time the WWE gave Cody a job to do, he usually made it work, even with gimmickry like Stardust that he apparently hated.

Blowing the whistle on the WWE was unprofessional in Sullivan’s eyes, he said, recalling that “when WCW gave me my walking papers, I sent out bottles of champagne” to the people he’d worked for.

“It’s about being a professional,” he said.

For Sullivan’s co-host, Mister Saint-Laurent, incidents like that of Cody Rhodes’ release and the long rant from Ryback are symptoms of an “over-share” generation that has lost its sense of professionalism.

Sullivan is likely right that Cody Rhodes wouldn’t have quit — at least not the way that he did — if not for Dusty’s death last year.

The elder Rhodes rose to prominence during wrestling’s so-called “Golden era” throughout the 1970s and ’80s where kayfabe was kept sacred.

While he shuffled back and forth from NWA/WCW to the WWE, he was always entrusted with booking decisions and seen as a top hand for developing younger talent.

He spent much of his career as a rival of WWE, and even when the company put his eldest son Dustin in a demeaning transphobic gimmick known as Goldust, he kept his cool and would later go on to work for and help the company behind the scenes.

What Cody Rhodes did, right or wrong, offered a large contrast to the way that Dusty managed his own career. While it is entirely possible Cody might have still left WWE if his father were still alive, he probably wouldn’t have done it in this manner.

Now that he’s out, Cody is left with few options.

The most probable scenario will find him working the indie scene, though he could make a play for New Japan Pro Wrestling or Ring of Honor.

From a storyline perspective, he would likely have a lot of pull at TNA, but with the fate of that company’s entire promotion in question, it would be difficult to tell how long such a run might last.

What do you think, readers?

Was Kevin Sullivan right to call out Cody Rhodes over the way that he quit the WWE, and is he right that this wouldn’t have happened if not for the death of “The American Dream”?

[Image via WWE]

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