Cody Rhodes on His Worst Period in WWE: “Too Scared to Speak Up”

Cody Rhodes has come a long way since his early days in WWE, but not every part of his first run with the company is something he looks back on fondly. The three-time WWE Champion recently opened up about one of the lowest points of his career, admitting that he was once too scared to speak up about his situation.

During his recent appearance on the Double Coverage Podcast, Cody Rhodes explained that playing Stardust was the first time he genuinely felt he would never become a world champion. He admitted that he eventually stopped believing he could overcome the character and started thinking about other career options, including becoming a wrestling executive or promoter. However, the biggest revelation was his admission that he failed to speak up when he had the chance.

“Everyone involved with this is a bad idea. However, it’s worse when I’m not telling you every week. There should be something that you bring up. Hey, I would do this differently. I needed to put it on the record. This is not good. This doesn’t have a ceiling like you think. I should have spoken up and maybe too scared to speak up. Maybe things in my personal life were happening and I didn’t want drama at work. Whatever it was, the best thing I could do was the decision I made and that was, you know, unheard of at the time for someone to quit WWE. Nobody quits WWE. That was the path. I didn’t know how to speak up,” Rhodes stated.

Rhodes believes that the Stardust gimmick was a poor creative decision, especially considering the direction his career had taken before the change. Still, he does not believe it was meant to punish him. Instead, he feels he should have been more honest with WWE officials about his concerns.

Cody Rhodes also acknowledged that he had earned the right to voice his opinion but failed to use it. Looking back, he believes he should have made it clear that the character had no real potential to take him to the next level.

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Leaving WWE changed Cody Rhodes’ career forever

And Cody Rhodes eventually requested his release from WWE in 2016. He then reinvented himself on the independent wrestling scene before becoming one of the founding stars of AEW.

His success outside WWE helped him return to the company at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. He has since become a multi-time world champion and one of WWE’s biggest attractions.

Interestingly, Rhodes believes he would not have reached these heights had he stayed in WWE during the difficult period. Stardust may have been the darkest chapter of Cody Rhodes’ career, but walking away from WWE eventually put him on the path to becoming the American Nightmare.

Edited by Divesh Merani