Ex-WWE Star Reveals Cody Rhodes’ Backstage Frustration With Stardust Gimmick

In June 2014, Cody Rhodes debuted the character Stardust, which was a tribute to his brother Dustin Rhodes’ Goldust character. The two were paired up together for a while and then feuded, but it didn’t do much for Rhodes’ career. In fact, a former WWE Superstar has now revealed Cody Rhodes’ backstage frustration with Rhodes’ Stardust gimmick.

Despite being popular, the Stardust gimmick only made Cody Rhodes hate his position in WWE and it led to his exit in 2016. In case you didn’t know, WWE even had plans for Rhodes to wear a mask as Stardust.

While speaking to Ringside News, former WWE Superstar Viktor of The Ascension talked about his time working in WWE with Cody Rhodes, who was known as Stardust back then.

Viktor described Cody Rhodes as someone who brought out the best in everyone around him. He noted that working with Cody Rhodes was enjoyable because Rhodes already had a clear vision of what he wanted to do. This made it easy for everyone to feed off his energy, leading to a great working environment.

Viktor added that Cody Rhodes was unique due to his drive and obsession with the business, unlike anyone else. This relentless work ethic reminded Viktor of The Miz—both are constantly working and never seem to take a break. It was exhausting just thinking about it, but it also demonstrated that their dedication paid off.

“Cody Rhodes, uh, was a lot of just Cody, and I think it was just a lot of us feeding off each other because Cody already kind of knows what he wants to do. He brought out, like, a lot more in us—it was a lot of fun working with him. We really enjoyed that time. He was just so different from everybody else—not in a good or bad way, like, I’m not saying anything negative about other people, but his drive and his obsession with everything in the business is like nobody else’s. It was tiring for me to think about because he’s just one of those guys, like him and Miz—they never turn off, they’re always always always working. I don’t know how people do that. I mean, you want it like nobody else wants it, but I guess at the same time, they show that it pays off.

Viktor noted that during their time with Cody Rhodes, he often seemed frustrated, but he never showed it. Despite any setbacks, Rhodes always remained positive, picking up the pieces and finding a way to move the team forward, even if the company itself dropped the ball. He utilized any resources available, including social media, to keep progressing. Viktor believed that Cody Rhodes was unstoppable, always finding a way to keep things moving, regardless of the obstacles. This attitude, he suggested, is what has led to Cody Rhodes’ continued success.

“I think a lot of times, especially at that point with us and Cody, he was really frustrated, but he never showed us how frustrated he was. He was always still, like, picking everything up and making it a positive, moving us forward, even if they dropped the ball that week and didn’t move us forward. He would still find a way to move us forward, whether it was using social media or whatever else. Like, you can’t stop him—you couldn’t stop him. So, it’s pretty awesome to see that, you know, everything that’s happened with him has worked out, because he’s a guy that you can’t stop someone like that.”

Cody Rhodes also felt dead inside while portraying Stardust as well. Regardless, Rhodes is clearly on top of the world right now as the Undisputed WWE Champion and that is all that truly matters to him.

Are you also glad that Cody Rhodes is no longer Stardust now? Let us know in the comments section below!

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.