WWE has embraced the use of AI in various promotional videos, and some fans have speculated the company has used it for creating storylines and even entrance music.
While Cody Rhodes has emerged in recent years as not only one of WWE’s top stars but also one of its most trusted brand ambassadors, he made it clear recently that he is firmly against the use of AI when it involves a topic understandably close to him.
“We’re never doing an AI voice of Dusty,” Rhodes declared during a recent appearance of the Mythical Kitchen web series Last Meals.
The topic came up while Cody was discussing the legacy left behind by his father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, and how The American Dream had imparted his priceless advice on how to properly execute promos on a generation of talent that includes Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Seth Rollins when they came up through NXT.
Cody began by saying he wonders who will teach such lessons in the future, before he shifted to talk of AI.
“There’s a rule at WWE: No AI,” he told host Chef Josh Scherer. ”We’re never doing an AI voice of Dusty, and here’s the backup: If we need to fill in a couple blanks, Bruce Prichard will just do it. Bruce Prichard or I’ll do it. That’s my promise, that’s my PSA: No AI Dusty.”
Prichard is a long-time executive at WWE, but for a period of time, he was on the outs with the company. He reinvented himself with the podcast Something to Wrestle, where he showcased his knack for impressions of famous wrestling personalities, including Dusty Rhodes. (The popularity of the podcast likely played a part in Prichard’s eventual return to his current position at WWE.)
Bruce, following his popular stint at WWE interviewer Brother Love, also infamously adopted a Dusty-like persona in WWE known as Reo Rodgers in 1992. The character, who spoke with a Rhodes’ lisp and wore cowboy get-up, proved immediately unpopular and was quickly dropped from TV.
As for his own ability to mimic his father, Cody was put on the spot by Scherer to deliver an impression.
Although it was only a brief moment, Cody nailed the ending to Dusty’s catchphrase: “I’ve wined and dined with kings and queens, and I’ve slept in the alley eating pork and beans.”
What do you think about Cody’s stance against the theoretical use of AI to recreate Dusty Rhodes? Let us know in the comments.
