Booker T Recalls 'Seeing Something' In Cody Rhodes That Nobody Else In WWE Did

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T was so convinced that Cody Rhodes had the potential to be a major star that he requested to put him over clean during their 2011 feud. 

Speaking about The American Nightmare's rise during a recent appearance on The Kurt Angle Show podcast, Booker noted that he saw something in the second-generation talent that nobody else in WWE did at the time. 

"I feel like I got a big part of Cody's rise. He owes me a cheque (he laughs). I saw something in Cody back then when no one was really giving him a chance. I saw something in Cody Rhodes. No one came to me with that and said, 'Hey Book, you want to work Cody?'. I did that. That's the first time I've ever asked to work with someone. That's the first time in my whole career that I've ever asked to get in the ring and not just work with someone, but put him over. I said, 'I want to put him over right in the middle'. I'm looking up at the lights 1-2-3", the 58-year-old said. 

Continuing, the current NXT announcer talked about his connection with Cody's extended family, saying: 

"His dad and I, I remember I was at one of the house shows and I went out and I rocked it. I came back to the curtain and Dusty goes, 'They won't put you on first no more'. I was like, 'Yeah man'. I loved Dusty. Me and Goldie, I mean, we don't don't get too much tighter than Goldie and I. Cody is the same way. I just want to see that kid thrive because I saw his talent when all those other guys, he just didn't get the shine that Batista and Orton and those guys got, but I thought he was just as good of a talent". 

Booker also praised Rhodes for not just requesting his WWE release in 2016 and betting on himself, but how he conducted himself on the independent scene, adding:

"For him to leave a company and go out there and rebuild himself and brand himself, and then the company says, 'Hey, we want you back. We need you back under this umbrella'. For him to be doing what he's doing now, he did that all on his own, man. So I give him major props for being a guy who grew up in this business, but was willing to go out there on that independent scene, and that's a grind. That's a grind. I'm gonna tell you. I've been at a couple of independent shows and he would show up and everybody else looked like a bum. Cody would have that suit on. His hair was well-coiffed. You learn, because Cody, every time he saw me, I was always dressed. I was always looking the part and for Cody to pick that up and, you know, figure that out, I was proud of that kid".

The five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion may be happy to have Cody back in WWE, but he has been outspoken against the potential return of CM Punk.

H/T WrestlingNews.co