Dustin Rhodes says he’s found a new passion for professional wrestling with All Elite Wrestling.
Dustin spoke to the media following his tag team match at Fight For The Fallen, and he said AEW gave him new life because he’s getting a chance to do what he’s good at and tell stories in the ring. He said he’s thankful for the opportunity facing his brother at Double Or Nothing provided him, and their tag match at Fight For The Fallen was another special achievement that hadn’t quite set in yet.
“When I was at the other company, I felt like I lost my passion a little bit. You’re sitting in the back and you have so much to offer the business because you’ve been in it all your life and that’s what you do good, and that they wouldn’t give me the opportunity to go out there and shine. So it’s very frustrating, right? So I get out of ‘Papillon’—I like to say—I get out of prison and I’m free and I can do what I want to do. And that call from Cody happened, put it together for Double Or Nothing, and I trained my butt off for that match. I mean this was the most important thing that I would ever do in my 31 years in the business. And it was.
From the start to the finish that match was to me, perfection. I mean we could actually do no wrong. They were there with everything. That story we told in two promos leading up to that match is so old school. It took, it takes you back to 1986 or 19 you know, between ’86 and ’90, ’91 and that’s me. I love to tell stories. I love to entertain that way. I like to let the people see that I’m actually almost dying out there. But then you see that babyface makes that come back, you know, and it’s like, ‘Oh God, here we go’ and I get you invested. And that’s what I do good, and I love that psychology from that match. It was like at the end of that match, I was on cloud nine for at least three weeks. I mean I felt good, I felt good and rightfully so, because I did good at 50 years old and Cody’s much younger, but he gave me that opportunity. Tony Khan gave me that opportunity and I came in and I nailed it, and it was fun.
And I’m glad to go out there again today in the 100º humidity and go out there and sweat like crazy and do it again, but with my brother this time. It was very, very special for me. It was special last month at Double Or Nothing, but tonight it was just like two things, with my brother and tonight was a main event. It was a very, very special for me and it hadn’t sunk in yet, so I’m still on the high.”
