When I started getting back into wrestling in 2011 after a long hiatus, the landscape was the same, just the names were different. Well, some of the names at least. There was still an Orton, still a DiBiase, a Neidhart and so forth. Legacy wrestlers who have rich family histories can either cash in on the reputations that precede them or get lost in their own shadows.
Cody Rhodes always seemed to do neither. In a family full of characters already, Cody was doing something different from them and different from everyone else in the WWE back then. I could tell right away that this guy loved comic books. When “Dashing” Cody Rhodes morphed into a vengeful Dr. Doom-like persona forced to wear a protective mask, he took the gimmick and ran with it straight to his first Intercontinental title - a belt he transformed back into a more classic 80’s style that the fans have loved ever since.
Flash ahead to 2014 and another transformation. With the triumphant return of his brother Dustin to the WWE in the form of Goldust at Royal Rumble 2013 it was only a matter of time before the Rhodes brothers would tag up and start making some noise. The tag division had been languishing with a lot of odd pairings that with the exception of Team Hell No in 2012, mostly didn’t work. Cody + Goldust laid the groundwork for the great run that the Uso’s just had but when Cody became the ethereal Stardust character recently, everything clicked into place.
Stardust is both the perfect complement to Goldust in the weirdness department and the perfect super villain, capable of owning a seat at the Legion of Doom (Super Friends). By taking a cue from Frank Gorshin’s Riddler on the old Batman TV show, Cody created an instant fan favorite. What everyone failed to notice at first was the red contacts he put in (how does he wrestles with those in?) that should have tipped everyone off that a heel turn was coming eventually.
Cody has always been a good soldier in wrestling. Great in-ring moves, very little injury time off and always willing to help put someone else over for a storyline, he has to be a dream for WWE management. What people don’t realize with this latest persona though is that he’s changed up his wrestling style completely. When Jeff Hardy tried pulling a similar trick off recently with his Willow persona over on TNA Impact, it fell flat in comparison, mostly because his style didn’t change much.
You see, Cody Rhodes has had the cosmic key to success all along. By embracing the family legacy, creating a memorable character and integrating his own sensibilities into the mix he has locked in a winning combo for his career. Will Stardust be around forever? It’s too soon to say but I can’t wait to see where Cody Rhodes will take us next.
- Dave Parrish
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