What did Dusty Rhodes predict about Roman Reigns' WWE future nearly a decade ago? Analyzing the accuracy

Roman Reigns has come a long way in WWE, from his time as Leakee in FCW to his role as The Tribal Chief today. While he is one of the top stars in wrestling in recent history, it was a struggle to gain that perspective from fans and professionals. One person who never doubted his star power was Dusty Rhodes.

Roman Reigns began his WWE journey in 2010 in FCW, the Stamford-based promotion's then-developmental territory. During his time there, he was known as Leakee. Although he came from the prestigious Anoa'i dynasty, he was mainly trained by Dusty Rhodes, along with several other superstars. At this point, he already had high expectations for himself, something only he and The American Dream agreed on.

In a 2022 interview with ESPN ahead of WrestleMania 38, Roman Reigns opened up that there was a time in FCW when he cut a promo for Dusty, saying he was a walking one billion dollar check. The rest of his peers looked at him in disbelief and had no clue what he was saying.

The only person who understood him even back then was Dusty, a person who drove the business forward. A decade or so later, Roman stated that most of his peers were now beneath him, and it shows that his work speaks for itself about being a legend and a future Hall of Famer.

Roman's rise to the top has not been easy. After his time with The Shield ended, his time as a solo star wasn't met with a positive reaction from the fans. However, he was able to turn it all around in 2020 when he turned heel and began his run as The Bloodline's leader.

Now, The Tribal Chief has not only gained popularity in the wrestling community but also in mainstream media. Also, he has proven to be dominant in his time as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

How did Roman Reigns use his close relationship with Dusty Rhodes against Cody Rhodes?

Roman Reigns has an ongoing feud with Dusty's son, Cody Rhodes

The Tribal Chief has faced several top stars in his time in WWE for the past few years, but none has shown much determination and passion in beating him than Cody Rhodes, Dusty's very own son.

In the lead-up to their WrestleMania 39 feud, Paul Heyman and Roman would target Cody's relationship with Dusty. Reigns would say that Dusty would praise him and brag that he was trained by Dusty, something Cody wasn't able to get. Roman also said that since Dusty focused more on teaching other superstars than Cody, he would teach The American Nightmare what his father passed down instead.

After successfully defeating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39, Roman Reigns stated during the post-event press conference that Dusty told him years ago that he was the greatest of all time.

Who is Roman Reigns' challenger for WrestleMania XL?

After initially facing at WrestleMania 39, Cody and Roman will meet again in a highly anticipated rematch at WrestleMania XL for the Undisputed Championship. However, the duo will also be in action on the event's first night in a tag team match. Rhodes will team with Seth Rollins against Roman and The Rock.

It would be interesting to see what else will happen in Roman Reigns' WWE run against his mentor's son.