Cody Rhodes lost the match against Randy Orton in WWE’s Sunday Night’s Main Event (Image via WWE)
At Night of Champions (2014), Rhodes and Goldust won the WWE Tag Team Championship. Cody Rhodes milestone Period Significance Ohio Valley Wrestling 2006 Began his developmental path WWE main-roster debut 2,007 Started his major WWE career Legacy with Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase 2008–2010 Established him in a prominent faction Intercontinental Championship 2011–2012 Major singles championship achievement Stardust character 2014–2016 Defined his final WWE phase WWE departure May 2016 Began his career outside WWE Career phase Major development 2006–2007 Developmental wrestling and WWE debut 2008–2010 Legacy with Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase 2011–2012 Intercontinental Championship success 2014–2016 Stardust era and eventual WWE departure 2016–2018 Independent wrestling and international expansion 2018 All In helped establish his broader industry role 2019–2022 AEW performer and Executive Vice President 2022 Returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 2023–2024 Back-to-back Royal Rumble victories WrestleMania XL Defeated Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship Stardust was not without successes. But the character became increasingly central to the direction of Rhodes’ WWE career, particularly as he looked to push into the singles main-event picture.
WWE announced immediately following WrestleMania 38 that he had a stated goal of capturing the championship. Rhodes has made his intentions clear since he returned; he wants to be WWE Champion.
Eventually, Rhodes left WWE in 2016 and embarked on a career path that redefined his place in pro wrestling. WWE records credit him with two Intercontinental Championship reigns and six tag-team championship reigns during his 2007-2016 tenure. He had a 236-day Intercontinental Championship run in 2011-2012, which was a big singles accomplishment before the character changes he made later in his career. The biggest change came in 2014 when Rhodes became Stardust.
His first WWE run saw tag team glory, the Legacy faction, an Intercontinental Championship run and plenty of character changes. His most controversial period was with Stardust, a colorful alter ego who would eventually become synonymous with the frustrations surrounding his final years with the company. Rhodes had a lot of big accomplishments in his first WWE run. The character was inspired by the Goldust persona of his half-brother Dustin Rhodes, and the two brothers would go on to team in WWE’s tag-team division.