Roman Reigns and 10 other WWE Superstars mentored by Dusty Rhodes

Paul Heyman interrupted Cody Rhodes during this week's episode of WWE RAW and started with compliments. He congratulated him on winning the Men's Royal Rumble match and spoke highly of his journey back to the company.

However, Heyman couldn't resist getting a shot at Cody Rhodes and his relationship with his father, Dusty Rhodes.

Paul noted that The American Dream molded some of the best WWE Superstars today, including Roman Reigns. Heyman added that Dusty Rhodes did not train Cody to make the rivalry personal, heading into WrestleMania 39.

Listen below are Roman Reigns and 10 other WWE Superstars who Dusty Rhodes mentored during their careers.

#11. Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Paul Heyman named Roman Reigns as a superstar who Dusty Rhodes influenced. He noted that The American Dream helped train him and claimed he told him that Reigns was the son he always wanted.

Naturally, Cody Rhodes took that personally and will use it as motivation heading into his title match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.

Roman Reigns will have to defeat Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber to enter WrestleMania as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

#10. Percy Watson

Former WWE Superstar Percy Watson revealed that he learned everything about the wrestling business from the legendary Dusty Rhodes. Speaking with Dr. Chris Featherstone on Sportskeeda's UnSKripted, the 41-year-old praised Dusty for revitalizing his wrestling career.

"Dusty Rhodes, The OG! That's the man who essentially taught me everything. That's the man who brought Percy Watson to life. Umm, taught me how to first cut a promo, to talk on the microphone. He was the kind of cat that let you be yourself, regardless of what that character was." [20:35 - 21:00]

Watson left the company in 2019 and is now working in the independent circuit.

#9. Ric Flair

Ric Flair looked up to Dusty Rhodes during his career. The Nature Boy has referred to Dusty as the most charismatic wrestler in the history of the business and speaks highly of The American Dream whenever he can.

Flair referred to Dusty as his mentor after he tragically passed away in 2015.

#8. Seth Rollins

Another WWE Superstar mentioned by Paul Heyman was Seth Rollins. The Visionary was also mentored by Dusty Rhodes and has had a remarkable career in the company.

Rollins has already qualified for the United States Championship Elimination Chamber match, and a title win might help him forget about Logan Paul eliminating him in the Royal Rumble.

#7. Becky Lynch

Before becoming The Man, Becky Lynch struggled to find herself in the professional wrestling business. In a WWE 24 Extra clip, Becky shared that Dusty Rhodes instilled confidence in her during promo class and believed in her when nobody else did.

Thankfully, Becky stuck with it and has become one of the most popular superstars in the company.

#6. Paige/Saraya

Former WWE Superstar Paige, now known as Saraya in All Elite Wrestling, was also mentored by Dusty Rhodes. She told CinemaBlend about a time when Dusty Rhodes challenged her, and she cursed him out.

Paige added that Dusty later told her that he just wanted to see her become successful and that she was allowed to curse him out whenever she wanted.

#5. William Regal

The legendary William Regal also learned from Dusty Rhodes during his career. Regal recently returned to WWE in a backstage role after spending some time as the manager of the Blackpool Combat Club in All Elite Wrestling.

He thanked Dusty for mentoring him and making him laugh during their time together.

#4. Sheamus

Sheamus is another top WWE Superstar who viewed Dusty Rhodes as a mentor and as a hero growing up. The Celtic Warrior is coming off a career year in 2022 and has formed a tag team with Drew McIntyre.

He has put together a remarkable WWE career and has been a reliable workhorse for the company.

#3. Kevin Owens

Both superstars from the main event of the Royal Rumble looked up to Dusty Rhodes and surely made him proud at the premium live event. Kevin Owens lost to Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble but has become an integral part of the most popular storyline in professional wrestling.

It will be interesting to see if The Prizefighter is in Sami Zayn's corner in his bout against The Tribal Chief at Elimination Chamber.

#2. Samoa Joe

Former WWE Superstar Samoa Joe looked up to Dusty Rhodes and said that The American Dream would forever be in his heart.

Joe has gone on to have a wildly successful career outside of WWE. He is currently the TNT and ROH TV Champion in All Elite Wrestling.

#1. Bayley

Paul Heyman name-dropped Bayley as another superstar who Dusty Rhodes had an influence on during his promo with Cody tonight on RAW. The Role Model started out as 'a hugger' but has now turned into the evil leader of Damage CTRL.

Speaking on The Sessions podcast with Renee Paquette, Bayley revealed how Dusty Rhodes impacted her career early on.

"So he [Dusty Rhodes] would be a little disappointed or sad maybe, because he went through everything with me. Tried to help me with my promos for years, you know, and then to the point now where I have my own talk show, and I’m a completely different character, and look completely different. I think he’d be so, so, I hope he would be so, so proud. And I think he’d be really entertained by it," said Bayley. [H/T: Inside the Ropes]

Despite coming up short in her Steel Cage match against Becky Lynch tonight, Bayley has established herself as one of the biggest stars in the women's division.