Insight into Cody Rhodes' WWE journey: From The Legacy to back-to-back WrestleMania main events
Cody Rhodes is one of the most popular WWE Superstars on the roster. It's hard to imagine now, but Cody wasn't always at this level, although he had a lot of potential, given he was Dusty Rhodes' son.
The fact that WWE had high hopes for Cody right from his debut was evident when he made his television debut against Randy Orton. Although Rhodes lost the match, his debut against one of the best performers in the world was astonishing and perhaps a sign of things to come.
However, this was only the beginning of things for Cody in a career filled with several highs and lows. In this article, we will look at Cody Rhodes' career, from his time in Legacy to being the main event of consecutive WrestleManias.
Forming Legacy with Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr.
From the start of his career, Cody Rhodes has somehow been linked to Randy Orton. His first feud in WWE was against The Viper after the latter slapped Dusty Rhodes.
However, after teaming together for the first time at Survivor Series and surviving together, Cody Rhodes and Orton decided they might make a decent team. They formed the stable Legacy with Ted DiBiase Jr.
Under Orton's guidance, Cody's career flourished as he was elevated to main event status and became involved in Orton's storylines and feuds. Rhodes and DiBiase also played a key part in helping Orton win the WWE Championship at Backlash 2009.
However, as Legacy grew bigger, tensions within the stable became apparent. At the 2010 Royal Rumble, Rhodes attempted to interfere in Orton's WWE Championship match but was caught by the referee, which resulted in a disqualification for The Viper.
Following the match, Orton attacked both of his proteges. This led to a Triple-Threat match at WrestleMania 26, which Randy Orton won.
Cody Rhodes wins his first singles title
Until this point in his career, Rhodes was mainly viewed as a tag team star. However, his singles career took off when he became Dashing Cody Rhodes.
His stock continued to rise, and he suddenly found himself in contention for the Intercontinental Championship. On the August 12 episode of WWE SmackDown, Rhodes defeated Ezekiel Jackson to win the Intercontinental Championship, his first singles title win.
Rhodes would go on to hold the Intercontinental Championship for a whopping 236 days and defended it against some of the biggest stars in the company, such as John Morrison, Ezekiel Jackson, Sheamus, and Daniel Bryan. He also introduced a new design for the title, which had a white strap and resembled the classic title of the 1980s.
Rhodes would eventually lose the title to the Big Show at WrestleMania 28. Throughout his career, he won the Intercontinental Championship twice.
The downfall of Cody Rhodes
Cody's career turned for the worse when he transformed himself into the face paint-wearing Stardust who spoke in riddles. This character resembled his brother Dustin Rhodes' character, Goldust.
As Stardust, Cody failed to get over with the fans despite winning the WWE Tag Team Championship and was on a constant losing streak. Cody also became frustrated with his booking during this time and did not believe in his gimmick.
As creative frustrations grew, Rhodes decided to part ways with the company he called home for so many years.
Becoming the American Nightmare
Despite how things ended with WWE, Cody Rhodes had a point to prove that he is indeed a main event star, and he used the Indies to show every one of his doubters just that.
He adapted the American Nightmare persona, and for the first time in his career, he started to shed the tag of being Dusty's son. He was creating his legacy by stepping out of the shadows of his father.
While in the Indies, Cody wrestled for multiple promotions, such as WCPW, ROH, NJPW, and NWA. He also won the ROH World Championship and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
Cody's time in Japan would be the catalyst for the next step in his career. In Japan, he formed a friendship with The Elite and even appeared on some episodes of Being The Elite.
Cody and The Elite attempted to sell out an arena of 10,000 seats on their own and announced the All In pay-per-view. It was one of the largest Indie shows ever and was a huge success. Following the success of All In, Cody, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks teamed up with Tony Khan to launch All Elite Wrestling.
During his time in AEW, Cody won the TNT Championship and was responsible for elevating some of the younger stars. However, there was an itch in the American Nightmare that needed scratching, and he returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 to face Seth Rollins.
Multiple Royal Rumble wins and WrestleMania main events
When Cody returned to the WWE, he became a star, and the company couldn't deny his legacy any further. Rhodes won the Royal Rumble in 2023 and immediately challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The American Nightmare was vocal that his goal in WWE was to finish his story and win the one title that has eluded his family for generations. However, Cody fell short of accomplishing this goal at WrestleMania 39 thanks to interference from Solo Sikoa.
This didn't deter him; he spent the next year climbing back up the ladder until he won the Royal Rumble match again in 2024. Now more determined than ever to finish his story, Cody Rhodes seems ready to move mountains to accomplish his goal at WrestleMania 40.