"Cody's not the level of the star as his father"- Jim Cornette agrees with wrestling manager's criticism of ex-AEW star amid WWE rumors  

Given the rampant rumors and fans buzzing all over the wrestling world, Cody Rhodes' potential WWE return seems imminent now.

However, The American Nightmare's next wrestling destination has drawn criticism from many veterans. One of them is Dutch Mantell, who recently downplayed Cody's impending WWE arrival. But more than that, he asserted that the former EVP would end up becoming "just another guy" in the global juggernaut.

Check out Dutch Mantell's statement on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk here.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Drive-Thru podcast, Jim Cornette discussed Mantell's critical remarks about Cody Rhodes.

The wrestling manager agreed with Mantell's thoughts and shared his belief that the former AEW star has never reached the level of stardom of his father, Dusty Rhodes:

"Of course, Cody's not the level of the star as his father, almost nobody else is either," said Cornette. "At one time, Dusty Rhodes was one of the three or four biggest box office attractions in the wrestling business, and Cody's never occupied that spot" [1:36-1:52]

Cornette further compared Cody's brother Dustin Rhodes to the modern-day version of the wrestling great in the late WWE Hall of Famer Nick Bockwinkel.

"Honestly. Goddamn, Goldust was a pretty big name when a lot more people were watching the f*cking wrestling business (..) It's been talked about Dustin at his age now is probably the modern-day equivalent of Nick Bockwinkel, early 50s and still working at a high level. Dustin probably was a better worker at his height than Cody is now, but Cody, to be honest, even though some of them have taken a tragic turn. Cody's a better talker than Dustin was. So everything that Dutch said there is, I mean, he wasn't predicting. It was gonna come to pass. It was what he was afraid of, and I think there's good reason to see that scenario taking place or at least to prognosticate about it." [2:00:3:19]

You can check out the entire clip from the Drive-Thru podcast below:

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Cody Rhodes could have a marquee match at WWE WrestleMania 38

Cody Rhodes reportedly signed with WWE almost a week ago, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider. As of this writing, The American Dragon is rumored to face Seth "Freakin" Rollins at WrestleMania 38.

With Rollins having failed to secure a spot for himself on The Show of Shows, it will be interesting to see whether Cody returns to pick a fight with The Architect next week.

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(If you use any quotes from this article, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and credit The Drive-Thru podcast)