Cody Rhodes: What Can't He Do?

   There is something to say about wrestlers that leave WWE for a while and come back even better.  Look no further than Jinder Mahal, who came back to have a 6-month reign as WWE Champion, after years of going nowhere. Though an injury has derailed him recently, the same could be said for Drew McIntyre.  Shawn Michaels was forced to retire for four years, only to come  back better than ever.  Triple H once said that sometimes a break from WWE is needed for a superstar to see what's out there and experience the world, only to come back stronger and more determined.  Who's to say that can't happen for Cody Rhodes one day?

   For every Rock or Randy Orton, there's an Erik Watts or Greg Gagne.  Being a legacy in wrestling doesn't always amount to success or talent.  In the case of Cody Rhodes, talent and success have come to him, despite not always being given the platform to succeed.  The first glimpse we saw of Cody Rhodes was when he joined brother Dustin to induct their father "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes into the WWE Hall of Fame.  He was just 22 at the time and had just started wrestling, but he had this charisma about him.  Living up to your father's legacy in the wrestling world is a tough task, especially when your father is Dusty Rhodes.  Dustin can certainly attribute to that.  Much like Dustin did with Goldust, Cody wanted to do things on his own and not necessarily rely on the Rhodes name.

   Cody Rhodes debuted in WWE later that year.  To make sure he got his feet wet quickly, he got into a program with veteran Hardcore Holly.  After a few matches, Cody had gained Holly's respect and the two became a tag team.  The unlikely pairing was pretty successful as they had become the Raw Tag Team Champions by defeating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch.  Even though Cody was still a little green and stiff on the mic, he had something.  The two would hold on to the Titles for six months, when Cody really made people take notice.

   Another multi-generation superstar debuted in 2007 in Ted DiBiase Jr.  He was the grandson of "Iron" Mike DiBiase and the son of the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. DiBiase started antagonizing Rhodes and Holly, challenging them to a match for their Tag Team Titles at Night of Champions. All he needed was a partner!  DiBiase showed up without a partner but still wrestled the match, to the confusion of his opponents and fans around the world.  During the match, Cody turned on Holly and joined up with DiBiase.  Cody was now Tag Team Champions with Ted DiBiase and kicked Holly to the curb, in a swerve not many saw coming.  Not long after, they joined up with Randy Orton to form the stable known as Legacy, as they were all multi-generational wrestlers.  Things were going pretty great for Cody.  Legacy helped Randy Orton win the 2009 Royal Rumble and feuded with Batista, Shane McMahon, and the reformed Degeneration X throughout the year.

   After Legacy broke up and Orton won a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania XXVI between the three, they went their separate ways.  Here is where Cody started to receive questionable gimmicks, yet made them work.  Cody Rhodes has been the master of turning chicken shit into chicken salad.  He's succeeded with everything he's been given.  The first example came next, as Cody developed a narcissistic attitude and demanded to be called "Dashing" Cody Rhodes.  He was always protective of his face and looked in the mirror constantly.  It was quite entertaining!  He took something that wasn't designed to work and made it work.  This led to a short-lived team with Drew McIntyre when they had a run as Tag Team Champions.

   In early 2011, Cody's nose was broken during a match with Rey Misterio.  Cody claimed he wasn't "Dashing" anymore and required facial  reconstructive surgery.  What followed was yet another attempt to saddle him with something but he made that work too.  Cody started wearing a protective mask on his face.  However, Cody's mind starting going as he believed his face was hideous, even though the mask was clear.  A lot of fans called him "Undashing" Cody Rhodes.  After getting revenge on Rey Misterio, he started bringing paper bags to the ring, putting them on fans and opponents he deemed ugly.  On the surface, this wasn't supposed to work, but it did!  I only wish they would have used this as an opportunity to bring a little more out of this character.  Something along the lines of Mankind, where his mind is out of control.
   This character led Cody to the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Ezekial Jackson.  Cody went on to defend his Title successfully several times and holding it for an impressive 8-month reign.  Cody, as a heel, did something fans went crazy for.  He brought back the classic look to the Intercontinental Championship with the white strap, and that classic looking belt is still around today.  That white strap classic look is so iconic as several legendary superstars held it, including Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels.  During a feud with Randy Orton, Cody's mask was broken and he claimed to now be set free.  After defeating Booker T, Cody got into a feud with the Big Show and a match was set for WrestleMania XXVIII for the Intercontinental Title.  Cody got into Show's head, noting that Big Show had never won at WrestleMania.  Big Show finally got his glory when he took the belt from Cody. Cody regained it at Extreme Rules but lost it again to Christian.  It was back to square one for Cody.

 Cody starting teaming with Damien Sandow, an intellectual.  Together, they became the Rhodes Scholars and immediately started a feud with the Tag Team Champions at the time, Kane and Daniel Bryan, collectively known as Team Hell No.  After a brief setback due to a concussion, Cody returned, this time sporting a mustache.  Now his character was simply about having a mustache.  Not many people could have pulled off a gimmick like that, but again, Cody made it work.  Despite not winning the Tag Team Titles, they had moderate success, defeating teams like Rey Misterio & Sin Cara and Tons of Funk.  Everything changed for the team during the 2013 Money In the Bank Ladder Match.  Cody was at the top of the ladder, when Sandow turned on him and threw him off, securing the briefcase for himself.  Cody became a fan favorite following the incident.  Cody then threw Sandow's briefcase into the ocean and defeated him at SummerSlam.

   Cody's career would soon be in peril when he spoke out against Triple H and the Authority.  The Game made Cody put his career on the line in a match with Randy Orton. Cody lost his job!  Soon after, his brother Dustin, as Goldust, made his return and tried to get Cody's job back.  Cody's father "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes tried to do the same thing but the Authority's Stephanie McMahon put a stop to that by demanding a reluctant Big Show to knock Dusty out.  Cody and Goldust returned together, ambushing The Shield.  At Battleground, the Rhodes Brothers, with Dusty in their corner, defeated The Shield.  Soon after, now known as the Brotherhood, they defeated the Shield again, this time to become Tag Team Champions.

   After losing the Titles to the New Age Outlaws at the 2014 Royal Rumble, things started to go south for the Rhodes Brothers.  They failed to regain the Championships from the Outlaws and were defeated by Rybaxel.  Cody told Goldust that he let him down and to find a better partner.  Goldust failed to win matches with any of the new partners he selected.  Goldust said there was only one person that could be his partner.  Cody returned, but under the guise of Stardust, in a similar outfit to Goldust.  "Stardust" was also a tribute to his father as years ago, several people gave that nickname to Dusty.  As Stardust, Cody was acting even stranger than his brother ever did.  He kept searching for the "Cosmic Key."  Both became villains when they attacked the Usos and soon got another run as Tag Team Champions.
 
   After losing the Titles and then several matches, there was dissension between the brothers, so much that Dusty had to get involved.  Cody was so entranced with being Stardust that he snapped at his father and brother.  Cody lost to Goldust at Fastlane in 2015 and continued to feud with one another.  Unfortunately, they ended the feud abruptly without resolution.  How this never materialized in a WrestleMania match with Dusty as the referee is a mystery to me.   Cody continued as Stardust and went it alone, becoming more erratic than ever.  His main feud after that was with TV star Stephen Amell, of the show Arrow.  Stardust befriended Bad News Barrett to take care of Amell and Neville.  Of course, this was due to Cody having a guest spot on Arrow.  At WrestleMania XXXII, Stardust competed in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match in a tribute to his late father Dusty Rhodes, who passed away in 2015.  Realizing that WWE weren't willing to let go of the Stardust character, Cody finally had enough and decided to leave in 2016 shortly after WrestleMania.  It was entertaining for a while and Cody made it work for as long as he could, but he had enough and wanted to prove that he could achieve greatness simply as Cody Rhodes.

   In his personal life, he married former WWE announcer Brandi Reed, formerly known as Eden. Cody resurfaced in the Indies and was always a huge draw everywhere he went.  Just mere months after leaving WWE, Cody showed up in Ring of Honor.  Less than year later, Cody became the ROH World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Christopher Daniels.  Cody also wrestled briefly for Impact Wrestling in 2016.  By the end of 2016, Cody showed up in New Japan Pro Wrestling and became a member of the infamous Bullet Club.  Cody's been killing it in New Japan and now is actually trying to put a wrestling show together with his Bullet Club stablemates the Young Bucks.  Everything Cody touches turns to gold.  In WWE, people always return, whether it was Bret Hart almost 10 years after the Montreal Screwjob, or most recently Goldberg.  Cody may be successful outside of the company now but I truly feel at some point he will be back there and finally taken seriously, fulfilling his destiny.  The question remains; what can't he do?





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