Cody Rhodes Reveals Fan Incident That Led To His WWE Exit

Cody Rhodes left WWE a number of years ago to set out and find his own fortune in the pro wrestling world. The grandson of a plumber wrote out a dream match list and started his mission to make a bigger name for himself outside WWE. Apparently, that decision came about thanks to one fan interaction.

While speaking to Ariel Helwani, Cody Rhodes explained that dark time in his WWE career just before his exit. He was playing Stardust, a painted, hissing, Superstar who wasn’t working out. Then one fan really burst his bubble when he realized that fans didn’t know who Cody Rhodes was anymore thanks to that intergalactic gimmick.

“There was a lot of rock bottom [playing Stardust]. Charlotte Flair brought a fan to a show. She told him, ‘Hey, do you wanna meet Stardust?’ and I was just not painted up or anything there earlier in the day in like my sweats. And he came up to me, he’s like, ‘You’re Stardust?’

I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, and I used to wrestle as Cody Rhodes.’ And he was like, ‘What? Who? What do you mean?’ He had no idea that I’d won the Intercontinental title or won some tag titles or Legacy. Nothing. Stardust was his only knowledge of me, and that was a rock bottom moment.”

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Cody Rhodes found his way to AEW, where he was an EVP for the company. Then he departed and went back to WWE, in a much better position to fight for the creative presentation he needs.

Cody Rhodes’ return to WWE saw him shot right to the main event level. After WrestleMania 39, and his loss to Roman Reigns, the quest is far from finished to finish his story.

Hopefully, fans will never forget who Cody Rhodes is again, even if Stardust ever finds his way back into the situation. Either way, Cody Rhodes seems very happy with how everything turned out.

What’s your take on Cody Rhodes’ time away from WWE? Did he accomplish everything he should have? Sound off in the comments!