Cody Rhodes is currently one of the top superstars in WWE. He has been a part of several top-notch bouts and has been thoroughly entertaining his fans. However, this is not the first time Rhodes’ has been enjoying his run in the Stamford-based promotion. He was previously a part of the Stamford-based promotion from 2006 to 2016, during which he gained a lot of popularity.
During Cody Rhodes’ first tenure with WWE, he was seen performing with his real name. However, he was later seen performing under the gimmick of ‘Stardust’. The gimmick presented an extremely dramatic character of Rhodes. ‘Stardust’ was a spinoff of ‘Goldust’s character, which was played by Cody’s half-brother, Dustin Rhodes.
However, the ‘Stardust’ gimmick didn’t receive a huge reaction from the fans or Rhodes himself. With that, fans often wonder about the origin of the gimmick. It seems Stephanie McMahon is the one who came up with Cody’s ‘Stardust’ gimmick.
Previously, while appearing on Talk is Jericho, Rhodes revealed, “Oh man, (Stardust was pitched) just in the worst way ever…Stephanie McMahon just randomly blurted out in Gorilla (position), ‘Why don’t you paint your face like your brother?’ And I’m looking, like, ‘Ah?’ just trying to get out of the curtain”.
The WWE Superstar added, “Then I saw the old man, I saw Vince (McMahon) just (imitating Vince), ‘Yes!’ And he came out of Gorilla, headset off, and he gave me the creative services guys’ info”. (Via: Wrestling Inc.)
Thus, it seems Cody Rhodes had no choice but to play the “Stardust” gimmick. He played the gimmick well and rose to prominence. However, he failed to become a major point of attraction for his fans with his previous character.
Focusing on Cody Rhodes’ run as ‘Stardust’ in WWE
Cody Rhodes debuted his ‘Stardust’ gimmick in June 2014. He came out with a different personality and appearance. He wore a bodysuit and had his face painted. Rhodes worked with his half-brother ‘Goldust’ while appearing with the ‘Stardust’ gimmick.
‘Stardust’ and ‘Goldust’ then feuded with The Usos. The feud ultimately resulted in a match between the two teams at the 2014 Night of Champions. The fans saw with excitement as ‘Stardust’ and ‘Goldust’ became WWE Tag Team Champions by defeating The Usos.
Moving ahead, the fans became shocked as ‘Stardust’ nailed a Cross Rhodes on ‘Goldust’. This resulted in a match between the two at Fastlane 2015. ‘Goldust’ stood tall at the event by defeating ‘Stardust’.
However, after a few months of singles run, Rhodes asked for his release from the Stamford-based promotion in May 2016. Later, in depicting the reason for his release, Rhodes highlighted creative issues. ‘The American Nightmare’ mentioned that for several months he requested WWE to mark the end of his ‘Stardust’ gimmick. However, the promotion chose to ignore his words.
Thus, Rhodes’ release from WWE marked the end of his sparkling ‘Stardust’ gimmick. However, he returned to the Stamford-based promotion in 2022 and went on to create a huge name for himself within the company. As of now, he currently holds the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship along with Jey Uso. Now it remains to be seen what lies ahead for the fan-favorite Superstar in the upcoming days.