Cody Rhodes

The son of the American Dream

Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes, was one of the most beloved wrestlers and bookers of the 1970s and 1980s. Cody joined WWE in 2006 and spent nearly a decade there, including tag title runs and a long stint as the face-painted Stardust character, which he felt limited him. In 2016 he asked for his release.

Betting on himself

On the independent scene, in Ring of Honor and in NJPW, Cody reinvented himself. In 2018 he and The Young Bucks staged All In near Chicago, an independent show that sold out a 10,000-seat arena. The success led to All Elite Wrestling, launched in 2019 with Tony Khan, where Cody was an executive and a top star.

The return

Cody came back to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. He tore his pectoral muscle before a Hell in a Cell match that June and wrestled anyway, with a huge visible bruise. After recovering he won the 2023 Royal Rumble and lost to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, then won the Rumble again in 2024.

At WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia on April 7, 2024, he beat Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship, ending a reign of more than three years. Fans called it finishing the story, because his father never won the WWE title.

Champion and face of WWE

Cody held the title for over a year before losing it to John Cena at WrestleMania 41 in April 2025, and he won it back from Cena at SummerSlam that August. His blend of old-school promos and modern presentation has made him one of the defining stars of WWE's Netflix era.

Cody's journey matters beyond WWE because All In and AEW proved that a promotion outside WWE could draw large crowds and a national TV deal in the US. That competition gave wrestlers more options and better contracts. His return to WWE then showed that a star could leave, build something new and come back even bigger. For many fans, his WrestleMania XL win was a rare moment where a long storyline and real life lined up perfectly.

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