Cody Rhodes never got the chance to work backstage with his father in NXT, and that is still something that cuts deep for the American Nightmare.

The late, great, Dusty Rhodes has been quite the focal point of Rhodes' feud with Roman Reigns, which will culminate this weekend in the main event of WrestleMania.

In his efforts to get under the skin of his challenger, Reigns has brought up that he and Dusty worked closely together and has said that Dusty never mentioned his son.

When NXT was revamped into WWE's developmental brand in 2012, Dusty Rhodes was brought in as one of the trainers behind the scenes.

As part of the gold brand, the American Dream would work with some of the young stars who have become the top names in WWE today.

Speaking to AP News, Cody Rhodes addressed seeing the effort his father made with these Superstars, affectionately known as 'Dusty's Kids.'

"When he passed away, “Dusty’s Kids” was something that I heard a lot because his influence and legacy were being spread out. That was a statistic being touted. Bayley, Sasha (Banks), Becky (Lynch), Seth (Rollins), Roman, Sami (Zayn), Kevin (Owens), the core ones, were all doing better than I was. It wasn’t something I could complain about or throw a tantrum over because they were honoring him. It almost felt like they were honoring him more than I was. And there’s jealousy and envy that comes with it. I would have loved to have done a promo class or been around a ring with my father. I got a far different education from him than they did."

Rhodes added that while he does not deliberately try to bring up his father, the American Dream is an intrinsic part of this year's WrestleMania.

"In these interviews, even on nights I don’t want to say his name or talk about him, you hear it nonetheless because his fingerprints are all over WrestleMania. Every one of those people I just named, for the most part, is doing something spectacular. You want to add yourself to that list, and you almost can’t function if you don’t."

Cody added that while Roman's comments about Dusty were 'weaponized' against him, he is ready for whatever the Tribal Chief has to say now.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will face Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania: Sunday this weekend.

The match will be Cody's first time in a WrestleMania main event, and the seventh for the Tribal Chief.

Reigns will make history, becoming the first person to enter three consecutive WrestleMania title matches under the same reign as Champion.