Cody Rhodes Shares Hilarious Story of Steve Austin Babysitting Him as a Kid

Before he was cracking beers and stomping mudholes in WWE, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was apparently on babysitting duty — and his assignment was none other than a young Cody Rhodes.

Cody has been telling this wild little bit of trivia during his media rounds lately, and it’s too good not to spotlight. On Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take, Cody revealed that back when his dad, the legendary Dusty Rhodes, was booking WCW, Cody would often tag along to television tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. With Dusty busy handling the booking meetings, someone had to keep an eye on little Cody; and that someone was Steve Austin.

“My dad would be in booking meetings,” Cody explained, “and Steve Austin would babysit me."

He told a similar story on Stephanie McMahon’s new ESPN+ series, Stephanie's Places, as they stood inside the historic Center Stage venue itself. Pointing out where the old WCW set used to be, Cody recalled being just a kid wandering the building.

“This is Center Stage. It’s just crazy. This is where WCW Worldwide was taped,” Cody said, giving a little history tour. “And my dad, he was the booker at the time. He'd bring me down here to the shows and he'd be in the booking meetings.”

And then came the money line:

“One of the guys who would babysit me when I was here was Steve Austin,” Cody smiled, clearly amused at the absurdity of it all. “Stone Cold Steve Austin would watch me while my dad was busy.”

It’s a hilarious mental image. Before Austin was flipping off authority figures and kicking off the Attitude Era, he was making sure Dusty's kid didn’t get into too much trouble in the locker room. Add this to the already long list of unbelievable backstage stories from the wild days of '90s wrestling.

Cody is of course now the Undisputed WWE Champion. These kinds of stories add another layer to the legacy he carries. Not only is he Dusty’s son, but he literally grew up around legends, and in this case, under the watchful eye of a man who would go on to become one of the biggest names in the history of the business.