Jericho welcomes Dustin Rhodes to the show.

Rhodes informs that the stars aligned for him and Cody at Double or Nothing. They had a terrific match and it was probably the greatest moment of his career. He notes that he was very nervous leading into the show but when he got in the ring and heard the fans reacting to everything he did, he became super focused on the task at hand and it was like they could do no wrong.

He notes that the heavy blood during the match might have been a bit extensive, but it added to the drama. After blading he realized he had cut deep and there was blood shooting everywhere. A few moments later the bleeding wasn’t stopping and he got worried, but after 15 minutes of bleeding he knew he’d be okay.

He informs that every time he and Cody pitched this match in WWE they were told that it wasn’t a big enough match for the big shows. Dustin knew in his heart that with the right story this match would sell. Finally the time was right now in AEW to tell that story.

Dustin pitched the match to McMahon for WrestleMania one year but it ended up happening at Fastlane. The match was not good and neither he or Cody were happy with it. They were just kind of thrown into the ring with no story and the match suffered because of it.

Dustin says there was a rift between him and Cody over the years, probably stemming from the issues between he and Dusty. Luckily they’ve worked through that and he’s determined to have a great relationship with his brother from here on out.

He notes that there was some hesitancy when putting the match together because even when they tagged together in the past he would yell at Cody if there were any mistakes. He knows now that was wrong and has since apologized for it.

He admits that he wasn’t sure how fans would react to him wrestling at Double or Nothing. He’s a 50 year old man who took the place of a young wrestler, and he was concerned that the fans would hate him for that. Luckily that wasn’t the case. He says he’ll never face Cody again because he can’t top the match they had that night.

He notes that he recently lost his passion for the business while working in WWE. He would travel from town to town spending money on rental cars and hotel rooms but creative had nothing for him. He’d pitch ideas to creative and directly to McMahon, but nothing was happening. He eventually told them that he wouldn’t be returning and it was an emotional moment.

After making that decision Triple H called him and told him that he was very thankful for everything Dustin did for the company and for him. He and Triple H have known each other for a long time, and that was an emotional phone call. After officially being released he felt the weight of the world come off his shoulders and he immediately became happier. He’s now free to pursue other ventures such as acting.

He points out that AEW has renewed his passion for the business, and he’s working out to be the best version of himself at 50 years old. He’s excited about tagging with his brother to face The Young Bucks in a couple months time.

Jericho asks Dustin about the development of his new character for AEW. He notes that he studied the Darth Maul character from Star Wars, and this led to the black and red face paint. He also decided to go sleeveless for the first time in his career so he could show off his tattoos. He drew up some designs and showed Cody and Tony Khan, and they both loved it.

Dustin talks about the development of the Goldust character. He notes that after being released from WCW he received a call from Vince McMahon who pitched him an idea for a “Goldust” character. Dustin agreed but didn’t quite understand how sexual this character would be.

He was always hesitant to push the boundaries sexually with the character, but one night he was working a match with Savio Vega who urged him to open up during their match. Goldust finally agreed and did a few sexual acts in the ring and when Vega would respond angrily the fans would erupt. After failing to receive a reaction from fans during the character’s first few months, now he had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

After the match was over McMahon approached him in the back and told him how much he loved it. He told Goldust to go back out and attack Vega again, knowing full well that when they returned to the city again they’d sell out with this feud. That’s exactly what happened.

Jericho notes that McMahon used to be so hands-on with the talent, giving them crazy, unique ideas which always seemed to work. Dustin agrees, noting that McMahon would be very approachable back then. He was one of the boys and seemed to always be happy.

Jericho and Dustin both agree that it was very strange for them to work at Double for Nothing. They’re so accustomed to working stadium shows in the United States for Vince McMahon and WWE, so seeing AEW logos all around the building was quite a shock.

Dustin adds that it was so cool for him to see Cody wearing the producer’s headset that day, directing people and leading talent. He also says he felt Dusty in the rafters during their match that night, and it was like he was holding Dusty’s hand throughout the bout because they could do no wrong in the ring.

Jericho asks Dustin about the classic Backlot Brawl match between him and Roddy Piper. Dustin notes that he was initially supposed to work with Razor Ramon, but after that fell through Roddy Piper was inserted into the match.

He asked McMahon if he could get colour during the fight but McMahon said no, so he went to Piper in private and asked him to bloody him up “the hard way” with a stiff punch because he thought the fight really needed blood.

When the time came to get bloody Piper struck him in the head with two stiff shots. Unfortunately he didn’t cut Dustin open. Instead, Dustin suffered a concussion and Piper broke his hand. Dustin then jumped aboard the car for the next spot. He wasn’t supposed to hit Piper with his car during the fight, and after hitting Piper accidentally he thought he had killed him.

Luckily everything worked out and McMahon was thrilled with the final product.

Dustin says he’s definitely open to working with AEW more in the future because he thinks there’s room there for veterans like him to help the younger talent.

That sums up this week’s episode of Talk is Jericho. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!