Cody Rhodes better known as The American Nightmare, the son of the late WWE Hall Of Famer wrestler Dusty Rhodes and the half-brother of WWE superstar Goldust (Dustin Runnels), Runnels grew up in a professional-wrestling environment. He pursued traditional wrestling in high school, winning the Georgia state tournament in both his junior and senior years. Although he considered continuing to wrestle in college, he turned to professional wrestling instead. He began training in 2006 and made his debut with Ohio Valley Wrestling in June that year under his own name.
In 2007 he signed with WWE, the world’s biggest wrestling promotion and began using the family’s in-ring surname Rhodes. He made his debut on the company’s flagship show Raw on July 16 in a match against Randy Orton. In September, with partner Hardcore Holly, he claimed a world tag team title. He went on to form a tag team with wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr., with whom he also won championship titles. In 2008 Rhodes teamed up with DiBiase and Orton, both third-generation wrestlers, to form the heel (villainous, or antagonistic) stable The Legacy.
In 2010 Rhodes again attained tag team glory, winning the unified Tag Team Championship alongside Drew McIntyre. In 2011 he earned his first solo title, defeating Ezekiel Jackson to win the Intercontinental Championship, which he retained until he was pinned by The Big Show the following year. After several weeks of feuding with The Big Show, Rhodes won the title back, but he soon lost it to Christian.
In 2013 Rhodes formed a tag team with his brother Dustin, then known in-ring as Goldust. The two had not spent much time together growing up, as Dustin is 16 years older. The pair wrestled for the fate of their careers and won at WWE Battleground 2013 against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. They went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship a few weeks later and retained the titles until the following year. In June 2014 Rhodes began appearing alongside Goldust as the character Stardust, an eccentric persona with elaborate face paint that better matched that of his brother. The pair went on to recapture the Tag Team Championship.
After requesting a release from WWE in 2016, Rhodes returned back to WWE competing in at WrestleMania 38 against Seth Rollins. He notably competed with a torn pectoral muscle at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in June and afterward required surgery that left him unable to compete for the rest of that year.
Rhodes made his return in January 2023, winning the 30-man Royal Rumble, which earned him a shot at a title match with reigning undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The match was contested at WrestleMania 39, where Reigns managed to defeat Rhodes to retain his historic title.
In 2024 you can see Rhodes as well as other WWE Superstars as they compete live at THe Elimination Chamber in Perth
You can catch Cody Rhodes and other WWE Superstars on Binge
