While Cody Rhodes hasn't made an appearance on WWE television – at least in person – since all the way back in June, in the immediate aftermath of his barn-burning bout with Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell, “The American Nightmare” has kept himself busy, working himself back to full health from a pec injury, spending time with his family, and, apparently, blessing Kevin Owens' tribute to his father, Dusty Rhodes, at WarGames.

Surprising? Maybe a little, but during his recent stop at After the Bell, Owens explained why he decided to don the red elbow pads and Dusty Rhodes shirt at Survivor Series, in the WarGames match that “The American Dream” originated, as transcribed by Fightful.

“It was a real thrill to be part of it when I did the one in NXT, just because it was great to be part of something Dusty created,” Owens said. “To be part of the first one on the main roster, to have the opportunity to wear Dusty’s shirt and the red elbow pads as a tribute to him, I talked to Cody (Rhodes) beforehand to make sure he was cool with it and everything.”

“It’s always neat to tie back to history and give Dusty a little nod, I try to do that as much as I can because he was so influential in my career. I really had access to him for a very short time, maybe ten months, between the time I started in NXT and the time he passed. In those ten months, he really left a mark on me that nobody has. I’ve known people for years in this industry and they haven’t had half the influence on me that Dusty had in that short time. Anytime I get to do something as a little shoutout to him, I take that opportunity. To be part of the first main roster WarGames, be able to do that, and just being part of the match itself, it’s an exciting concept. Anytime there is something new, it’s great to be part of it, and this was new to a lot of people. It was the first time on the main roster. Obviously, not everyone who watches the main roster necessarily watches NXT or knows what WarGames was from back in the day. It was cool to be part of this new concept that a lot of people saw for the first time.”

Considering the older Rhodes created WarGames and took part in 16 of the matches, according to CageMatch, including bouts for NWA, UWF, Jim Crockett Promotions, and WCW, it's nice to see Owens pay tribute to the former star who was gone too soon, especially if Cody gave him his blessing.

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Kevin Owens learned a lot from Dusty during their shared time in WWE.

Elsewhere in his Graves interview with Owens, KO shared just how influential the older Rhodes was on his career in the ring but even more so outside of it.

“There are a lot of little stories that are so funny,” Owens said. “Anybody who was around Dusty for any period of time has stories. How great he was, how funny he was. That’s the influence he leaves on you, not only teaching you about wrestling, but as a human being. The biggest thing he taught me, beyond whatever wisdom he imparted in me as far as promos and presence in the ring, that was his forte; he really is the one that showed me from the get-go that it’s okay to be myself here. When I came into WWE, there was always the whole obstacle of the way I looked, who I was, that’s not what WWE was looking for, that was the sentiment for so long. I came in, Triple H took a shot on me, he gave me a chance, and Dusty, right from the get-go made me comfortable and made me understand that I could be who I am. I didn’t have to try to put up a front or try to be something I wasn’t. That’s never who he was, he stayed true to himself his entire career. That would be the biggest thing he imparted in me during the short time we had together.”

Like Rhodes, Owens is an original who didn't conform his style to that of the promotion but instead kept his independent style alive with a non-traditional in-ring body type and pension for ripping roaring promos any time he's given a mic and a few minutes to speak his mind. If Owens can keep that aspect of his personality going strong nine years and counting into his professional wrestling career with WWE, then Rhodes' legacy is still alive and well.