Pro wrestling has been full of gimmicks right from the early days. While some gimmicks are adored by fans like that of The Undertaker being ‘The Deadman’, others have often divided opinion. But sometimes, these gimmicks are also detested by the very wrestlers portraying them. And that’s exactly how Cody Rhodes felt when being ‘Stardust’ in the WWE.

He is known as ‘The American Nightmare’ now but seven years ago, he played the sidekick to his brother Goldust while being painted in gold and black and wearing a latex bodysuit.

Cody Rhodes blames himself for Stardust

‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes was first with the WWE from 2007 to 2016. During his 10 years, he won the Intercontinental Championship twice and the WWE Tag Team Championship 6 times. But in spite of being relatively successful, he was deeply unhappy with his character of ‘Stardust’ towards the end of his WWE career.

In 2014, Rhodes started playing the character Stardust wearing face paint and a latex bodysuit like his brother Goldust. He even had mannerisms similar to that of his brother and teamed up with him for tag team matches. He continued wrestling solo until finally exiting the WWE in 2016 citing frustrations with the creative department.

Now 7 years later, he finally opened up about his regret for playing the character Stardust. He felt he could have stood up for himself and challenged the creative honchos. On the podcast with  The Dale Jr., he said, “There are plenty of people to blame when it comes to Stardust. But as I have gotten older, more and more of the blame I put on myself, It’s one thing to stand up for yourself two years in, when it’s bottled up and ready to blow versus had I fought this battle six months in.”

He also feels that WWE didn’t need a character like Stardust at that time as they already had big names like John Cena and The Rock. He added, “I felt like at that time when it finally set in, it wasn’t so established as it was, I felt insignificant to the show, I felt undesired and from a show perspective, if you are the guys putting the show together, that wasn’t incorrect. They didn’t need Stardust, you got John Cena, he is wrestling The Rock, you got Undertaker, you didn’t need me.”

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But what are the other gimmicks that Cody Rhodes played in his first stint in the WWE?

Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Ted Debiase Jr. were together known as The Legacy

Rhodes debuted on RAW in 2007 and initially teamed up with Hardcore Holly to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. In 2008, he teamed up with Ted Debiase Jr. to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.

The group was later strengthened by the addition of Randy Orton and together they called themselves The Legacy, as each of them was a second-generation WWE superstar. They even got into a feud with the reformed D-Generation X.

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The group eventually broke up due to internal feuding leading to a triple threat match at WrestleMania XXVI which ‘The Viper’ convincingly won. Then after being drafted to SmackDown, he started a narcissistic gimmick called ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes.

Post that he teamed up with Goldust to form The Brotherhood and then eventually Stardust. But what are your opinions about Cody Rhodes’ gimmick as ‘Stardust’?