There have been many masters of reinvention over the years in professional wrestling, and Cody Rhodes is no doubt one of them. Throughout his career and across several promotions like WWE, AEW, ROH, and NJPW, there have been different versions of Cody Rhodes that fans have witnessed.
Every Version Of Rhea Ripley, Ranked Worst To Best
Rhea Ripley is the top female star in WWE today, but she has changed a lot since she started wrestling. Here is every version of Rhea Ripley, ranked.Not all of these versions have been a hit, and when looking at ranking his versions from worst to best, some really stand out as stinkers. There have, however, been some truly brilliant gimmicks, with Rhodes showing a wonderful ability to portray completely different characters and make it work. Which one is the best though?
11 Rookie Babyface At The Start Of Cody Rhodes' WWE Run
Cody Rhodes Debuted As A Basic Babyface
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
10 Months | WWE World Tag Team Championship | Turning On Hardcore Holly |
By far the worst version of Cody Rhodes was the very first. Rhodes wasn’t necessarily bad here, but there was just absolutely no depth and nothing to this.
Rhodes was the rookie sidekick of Hardcore Holly in the tag team division. They got very little attention, not much mic time, and were about as basic as you can be as an act. It wasn’t terrible, but it had so little to give it any sort of argument to be anywhere other than bottom of this list.
10 Moustached Heel In Team Rhodes Scholars
Cody Rhodes Was Partners With Damien Sandow
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
10 Months | N/A | Breakup Of Team Rhodes Scholars |
This is along the same lines of his rookie babyface act. Cody Rhodes in the Rhodes Scholars was fine, but his character has such little depth to it beyond just being a typical cocky heel.
Rhodes and Damien Sandow were a good act with decent chemistry, but WWE never fully explored their potential, and this is another reason as to why this is ranked so far down in terms of versions of Rhodes.
9 Pandering Tweener Mess In AEW
Cody Rhodes’ AEW Career Went Downhill
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
11 Months | AEW TNT Championship | Five-Star Ladder Match With Sammy Guevara |
Cody Rhodes’ AEW career went off the rails when fans saw right through the “pandering American hero” gimmick that just wasn’t working. This led to Rhodes walking the line of being heel, with many “wink, winks” and breaking kayfabe when it came to him refusing a clear heel turn.
It was certainly interesting, but the execution ultimately felt super awkward and the whole thing was off. It led to months of strange promos, uncertain crowds, and a clearly unhappy Rhodes.
8 Stardust Was The Final Nail In Cody Rhodes' First WWE Run
Cody Rhodes Put His All Into Stardust
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
2 Years | WWE Tag Team Championship | Feuding With Stephen Amell |
There is no denying that Cody Rhodes made “Stardust” entertaining. His promos were quirky, his mannerisms were unique, and even though he got very little attention in terms of booking, Rhodes did all he could to try and make Stardust a success.
Unfortunately, for the same reasons Goldust never escaped the midcard, Stardust remained there too. The gimmick was too wacky, too silly, and booked too poorly to ever make it in WWE as a successful character. Rhodes may have been good with Stardust, but when weighing up positives and negatives, Stardust is on the poor side of things.
7 Bleached Hair ROH World Champion
Cody Received The Iconic Rhodes Haircut
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
2 Years | ROH World & Six-Man Championships | Becoming World Champion For The First Time |
A little while into his time away from WWE, Rhodes reinvented himself. He aligned with Brandi Rhodes, bleached his hair, and developed more of an attitude, such as when he low-blowed his way to the ROH World Championship.
Every Version Of Finn Balor, Ranked Worst To Best
Wrestling fans have witnessed many versions of Finn Balor. Which one stands out above the rest?It was certainly baby steps but it showed that Rhodes was developing more of a personality and truly finding his feet as a solo star, proving himself able to be a world champion of a company.
6 Anti-Authority Babyface Had Potential For Greatness In WWE
Cody Rhodes Showed Signs Of Stardom In WWE
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
10 Months | WWE Tag Team Championship | Winning Back Jobs For The Rhodes Family |
Cody Rhodes’ 2013 babyface turn saw fans naturally rally behind him, and he showcased a clear ability to drum up support and cut impassioned promos. This saw him defy authority figures and enter a feud with The Shield.
Rhodes had never been more over in his first WWE run than this, but his momentum was short-lived and WWE fumbled the booking, with Rhodes just becoming an average face. It was a mixed bag with a strong start but poor finish.
5 “Dashing” Cody Rhodes Was A Strong Midcard Act In WWE
Cody Rhodes’ First Singles Gimmick
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
7 Months | WWE Tag Team Championship | Rey Mysterio Breaking His Face |
After breaking away from Legacy, Cody Rhodes entered the singles division as “Dashing” Cody Rhodes. On paper, it was a pretty generic heel gimmick, but Rhodes was just a natural in this role, oozing charisma and attitude.
The huge grin, the heel work, and the promos were all great, and it proved to be a very entertaining midcard gimmick.
4 Cody Rhodes Became A Bullet Club Member In NJPW
Cody Was A Good Heel In NJPW
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
2 Years | IWGP United States Championship | Facing Kota Ibushi At Wrestle Kingdom |
Cody Rhodes joined the Bullet Club, and whilst he initially didn’t feel like someone who fit the group, his heel persona made for some great matches and moments such as against Kazuchika Okada, for example.
Rhodes and The Elite members would eventually become babyface, showcasing a lot of fun in their personalities. Rhodes had so much to give in terms of comedy, and mixing this with some of the Bullet Club attitude made for a good version of Rhodes.
3 Legacy Member Mentored By Randy Orton
Cody Rhodes And Ted DiBiase Joined Randy Orton’s Group
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
1 Year & 5 Months | WWE World Tag Team Championship | Royal Rumble Final Four |
Cody Rhodes was brought into Randy Orton’s Legacy faction in 2008, and whilst he worked mostly as a lackey and punching bag, his heel work was very strong.
Over their time together, Rhodes and DiBiase both developed personalities and added depth to their characters, which was shown a lot in their feud with D-Generation X. The Legacy act ran the heel side on RAW during this period, and were very entertaining.
2 “Undashing” Cody Rhodes Is An All-Time Great Intercontinental Champion
Cody Rhodes Became Unhinged
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
10 Months | WWE Intercontinental Championship | Unveiling The Classic IC Title |
Better than “Dashing” Cody Rhodes was “Undashing” Cody Rhodes - a sadistic, slow-speaking, and damaged character who had his beautiful face broken. He handed paper masks to the ugly crowd, wore a face mask, and delivered fantastic promos.
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Each chapter of Sami Zayn's WWE career has seen him transform himself into different versions with varying degrees of success!This is Rhodes’ best heel version and in truth, it is a truly underrated part of Rhodes career. He was a brilliant Intercontinental Champion during this time too.
1 WWE’s Top Babyface Ever Since His Return
Cody Rhodes Was Revitalised After WWE Return
Length Of Gimmick | Notable Accomplishments | Best Moment |
|---|---|---|
1 Year & 8 Months (And Counting) | Royal Rumble | Hell In A Cell With A Torn Pec |
Rhodes at the start of AEW portrayed this gimmick and it was great, but it fully came into life in WWE. Rhodes is the ultimate good guy, fighting for his family, wrestling in the memory of his father, and being a straight up good guy who fights through adversity, injury, and more.
The fans love it, and it is no doubt the very best version of Rhodes ever.
