WWE superstar Cody Rhodes reunited with his father’s once-pawned Rolex after Wrestlemania 40 win

Zach Blass

These days, I by no means find myself regularly tuning in to the slate of WWE programming – Monday Night Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and the various pay per view events. That being said, the WWE and the world of professional wrestling continue to be one of the largest attractions in entertainment worldwide. Lately, like my father, I now and again reflect on the era of wrestling from my childhood. And, with more and more documentaries coming out regarding my father’s generation of wrestlers, I bond with my dad as we watch these stories and characters from his era. Dusty Rhodes is a legendary figure within the world of wrestling, someone from my father’s era as a wrestling fan. Cody Rhodes, Dusty’s son, is a superstar of the current era – the next generation of one of the most famous names in wrestling. Wrestling is a generational passion just like watches are. And after Cody’s huge win at Wrestlemania 40, becoming the undisputed champion, the world of professional wrestling and watches intersected once again through an incredible gift presented to him backstage. After his championship match, WWE executives Triple H, Bruce Prichard, and Nick Khan presented him with a Rolex. This was no ordinary Rolex, though. They actually managed to track down the Rolex that Cody’s father pawned off many years ago.

We’re all familiar with the idea of passing a watch down from one generation to the next. In a recent episode of the SI Media podcast, Rhodes shed some light on the watch and why it was not handed down to anyone in the family after Dusty Rhodes passed in 2015.

“I always wanted it, assumed I would get it. I used to go into his room and his jewelry dish and I put it on my wrist and it was far too big,” Rhodes explained. “When he passed away, I just assumed it was coming to me. Then I thought, oh, you know, that’s selfish to me. Maybe it comes to Dustin, you know, Dustin deserves it just as much. And then I found out none of us were getting it, we’re going to get pocket knives instead and his cowboy stuff because he had pawned it so that I could go to the Howard Fine acting studio in LA and that was the cash he handed me when I was pulling out of Marietta, Georgia to drive all the way over to Studio City there.”

The horological reunion was unexpected, especially as you watch Cody’s reaction. As Triple H presents the watch on behalf of himself, Bruce, and Nick, you can see a humble Cody slowly peel away at the onion-like layers of watch packaging. And peeling onions is an apt analogy because once he opens the box and clocks that it’s not just any Rolex he’d been gifted, there’s a concerted effort on Cody’s part to hold back tears. The watch now takes on multiple meanings, being not only tied to his father, but also to his own journey and trajectory that would lead him to where he is today. A full-circle moment.

Though we never got a proper wrist-shot of the watch, Rhodes confirmed it was Dusty’s actual Rolex on the SI Media podcast. But what is the actual watch? Watching the post-event press conference, the wrestler shows it off under the lights, and it looks to be a 18k yellow gold Datejust 36 – my guess would be the reference 16238 or 116238. A solid gold Datejust hasn’t existed in the Rolex catalogue since 2018, with the 116238 ending its 14-year production run. Considering Rhodes Junior remembers seeing the watch as a kid, I’d wager the the ’90s 16238 model is likely to be the model in question.

For further information, you can check out this story published by Wrestling Inc.