As Cody Rhodes continues his one-man media tour ahead of his match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, it was only a matter of time before the second-generation WWE Superstar brought up John Cena, the defining superstar of the last generation who effectively handed off the baton to the “Tribal Chief” over the past half-decade. Does Rhodes appreciate what Cena brought to the table, or does he have a more controversial take?

Unsurprisingly, “The American Nightmare” is a massive fan of Cena both in and out of the ring, as he detailed to Robbie Fox on “My Mom's Basement” podcast.

“You mention John. John’s the ultimate role model as far as how he conducted himself, whether it was with the media, with the fans, the good fans, the more unruly fans, everything,” Rhodes said via Fightful. “He is the ultimate role model. Before he became a bus guy, I got to drive him around a little bit, and he was just talking. I was, in my mind, just writing everything down that he was saying. He was really invaluable as a person to be around. I’m so blown away by how he’s doing and what he’s doing. I think if you try to copy what he did… everyone’s gotta do it their own way. I think my style, I ever was to be somebody that was a locker room leader, would just be to lead by example.”

For fans out of the know, Rhodes and Cena actually have a pretty extensive history in WWE, with 76 matches and five title defenses wrestled over their shared time in The Fed, according to Cagematch. Between those matches and the hundreds of hours in the back between them, it's clear the leader of “Cena Nation” has had an impact on Dusty Rhodes' baby boy.

Cody Rhodes shares “The Cena Rule” he shares with students.

Discussing Cena's impact further, Rhodes disclosed just how vital understanding that there is no formula in professional wrestling and that to really get over, a performer has to do it their way, even if that means wearing jorts.

“I know because, as my time in management and being an executive, as beneficial as that was to me and as educational as it was to me, sometimes it’s easier to lead by example, really, versus telling them this is gonna work, or being so adamant that they need to do this and need to do this,” Cena said. “Everybody is different. There is no true formula for success in sports entertainment and pro wrestling. It’s really you just know it when you hear it, when they’re reacting, boos and cheers included in that. I think for me, I’ll probably do it my way if I ever end up in that spot and I kind of am. But yeah, I’d like to do it my way. I loved how he did it. Dude was in his jean shorts and his shirt all show.”

While some fans gave Cena a hard time for his outfits, hit attitude, and for his booking – read: burying ascending stars and refusing to go heel – Cena's willingness to “not cover his ears” is what really allowed “The Champ” to shine. No wonder Rhodes explicitly passes those words along to his students at the Nightmare Factory, explicitly calling the phrase “The Cena rule.”

“The best thing I get from him that I tell the kids at the factory all the time is, ‘Don’t cover your ears.’ Even if there’s a small little rumble, he would always do something to reward their participation as a crowd,” Rhodes said. “He would really make them interactive without letting them know they were interacting. The roar would be a little louder each time. The Cena rule, as we call it at the Nightmare Factory, is if they’re doing something, you need to do something. Doesn’t mean you gotta take it home or rush it. But you need to reward their noise. I think that came from a sense in his time [that] he was coming on the heels of giants, Rock, Austin, and probably didn’t want to lose any bit of participation because we’re going out of these eras where everybody, Godfather walking through the curtain, no knock on the Godfather, but the place is coming unglued. Then they got less and less for just the industry as a whole. I think he made it clear that, whenever you get something, you reward. I think that’s a good strategy to have now because as healthy as the business is now, and it is as healthy as it’s ever been, you still want it to keep moving upwards.”