On paper, it makes sense that Cody Rhodes is a big fan of Paul Heyman. Both spearheaded alternatives to WWE that capitalized on being the “cool” promotion at the time, both have a deep, near-encyclopedic knowledge of the professional wrestling business, and both are scheduled to appear in the main event of WrestleMania 39, with Rhodes booked to battle Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and Heyman scheduled to stand in the “Head of the Table's” corner willing him on to victory.

And yet, when Rhodes took the mic on RAW for one of his patented “What do you want to talk about?” segments, you'd think the “Grandson of a Plumber” was a founding member of the ECW fan club, as he spoke about “Paul E.” like he was a part of wrestling's other royal family. It all started in about 2000, when the elder Rhodes, Dusty, not Dustin, was broke. Not like, broke for a rich person, but broke like $100 in the bank, doing car commercials to keep the car broke. When the Rhodes family needed a W, who did they turn to but Heyman, who booked Dusty for a segment in ECW and not only helped his family pay the bills but actually helped to get the grizzled vet's confidence back.

“The year was 2000, and the till in my family had dried up a bit, hard times became more than just a promo,” Rhodes said. “Simply put, my family went broke. $100 in a Wachovia checking account for all of us. If you need a visual aid for it, my dad was doing car commercials but not for the money, just so that he could keep the car. But then he got a phone call, you called him. You told him ECW was in town and Steve Corino was going to talk a little smack about him and that if he would just agree to appear on camera, if Dusty Rhodes would be on ECW, you would pay him and you would pay him well. You kept your word and in addition to the money that we sorely needed, ECW gave my father his confidence back and I can never, ever repay you for that. Thank you very much.”

Sharing this story with the man himself, Heyman was surprisingly at a loss for words, though only for a moment. Working with Dusty, even during a down period in his career, clearly meant a lot to Heyman even then, and being thanked for helping the now-deceased superstar get his mojo back ahead of a return to WWE and an eventual run at the Performance Center, where he helped to “prep” some of the top talents in professional wrestling today, including Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and yes, the “Tribal Chief,” Roman Reigns meant a lot too. Despite having mutual respect for Rhodes and his family, Heyman isn't ready to simply roll over and allow Rhodes to have his moment now.

Paul Heyman makes things personal in WWE feud with Cody Rhodes.

Visibly broken up after hearing Rhodes' earnest speech, Heyman complemented Rhodes right back, acknowledging – which is a big word in The Bloodline-verse – his accomplishments before delving into the opportunity at hand for “The American Nightmare.” You see, Rhodes has a chance to unseat “The Head of the Table,” to walk into WrestleMania and take the strap that no one in his family, not even his father, could secure. Still, Rhodes wasn't prepped by his father at the performance center, as he debuted in WWE before the building in Orlando was built. Now maybe Dusty didn't get hands-on with his son because he wanted him to make it on his own. Or maybe, Dusty simply didn't think his son had what it takes to be a main event star.

“God Cody,  I can't convey in words how much I loved your father. And I call tell you straight to your face man did your father love you. I'll tell you this one personally, in my last conversation with your dad, he told me you, Cody, were his favorite son. But Roman Reigns, was the son he always wanted.”

While Dustin Rhodes certainly didn't appreciate catching a stray from “The Wiseman,” it was his brother who got all up in Heyman's face to make sure Heyman didn't misconstrue his words.

“I'm just trying to win a wrestling championship and everybody wants to make it personal, and that's what you just did,” Rhodes said. “And you're not going to pay for it, Mr. Heyman, your boy, Roman Reigns, is going to pay for it at WrestleMania, when I take those titles personally.”