Everything to Know About Cody Rhodes, the Undisputed Face of WWE SmackDown

SmackDown's move to USA Network on September 13 will bring more eyes than ever to the top champions of WWE's premiere Friday night show — and no star shines brighter than the Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes.

Make no mistake: SmackDown revolves around Rhodes and his championship. The 39-year-old has waited his entire life to get to this moment, and the story of how he climbed to the top of the professional wrestling mountain is fascinating.

Here's everything fans young and old should know about Cody Rhodes, the undisputed face — in more ways than one — of WWE SmackDown!

Cody Rhodes' first years in WWE were underwhelming at best

Let's call a spade a spade here: Cody Rhodes' initial WWE run was spectacularly disappointing. After debuting in 2007 against Randy Orton, he failed to connect with the WWE Universe, despite wrestling being in his blood; his father was the late, great Dusty Rhodes, a pioneer in the industry.

After a few ho-hum years wrestling under his own name (and achieving a modicum of success along the way, including capturing the Intercontinental Championship and tag team titles), Cody Rhodes was assigned a unique but bizarre character to portray: Stardust. The zany, cartoon-like character was over the top and ridiculous, and the WWE Universe did not respond well. While Rhodes gave the character his all, he never achieved greatness — or even success — as Stardust.

Ultimately, his run as Stardust, conceived initially as a companion to his real-life older brother's iconic Goldust character, fell short in many ways:

Admit it: You didn't see Stardust as a future Undisputed WWE Champion, nor did Cody Rhodes himself.

Leaving WWE (and returning six years later) was Cody Rhodes' best decision

In May 2016, Rhodes saw the writing on the wall — there was no place for him in WWE at the time, and unless he reinvented himself elsewhere, his dream of one day holding the most prestigious title in professional wrestling would never become a reality.

So Cody Rhodes left and started from scratch, betting on one person: himself.

Beginning in the summer of 2016, the man formerly known as Stardust rid himself of everything WWE-related — and that meant performing as much as he could on the famed independent wrestling scene until fans no longer associated his failures in WWE with the name "Cody Rhodes."

He even created a checklist filled with his dreams, ambitions, and goals — a photo of which went viral across social media in May 2016:

For the next six years, Rhodes checked most of those things off his list as he competed in smaller promotions throughout the United States and Japan.

Of course, you can't tell the story of Cody Rhodes' journey of who he is in 2024 without mentioning that he played a crucial part in creating the second-biggest professional wrestling organization in the United States: All Elite Wrestling. From 2019 to 2022, Rhodes led a wrestling revolution alongside his real-life friends, giving WWE its first real taste of competition in the industry since World Championship Wrestling folded in 2001.

By the time Rhodes left AEW, he was a bigger star than arguably anyone else in wrestling not named Roman Reigns. It's safe to say that Rhodes' mission of reinventing himself from the ground up after leaving WWE was a massive success.

Finishing the story was just step one for Cody Rhodes

The triumphant tale of Cody Rhodes returning to WWE after a six-year absence is something most hardcore members of the WWE Universe can tell with ease.

After making his shocking re-debut as The American Nightmare (complete with theme music made famous from his time in AEW) against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, it was clear to fans and the WWE locker room that this wasn't the same person who was saddled with facepaint six years earlier — this was Cody Rhodes in his final form. 

And he came to play.

Although Rhodes' comeback tour had a few bumps in the road (namely, one of the most gruesome in-ring injuries ever and a surprising loss to Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 39), he would not be deterred.

After winning the 2024 Royal Rumble, he once again set his sights against Roman Reigns. And in one of the wildest main events in WWE history (seriously — it involved The Rock, John Cena, and The Undertaker, for goodness' sake), Rhodes finally "finished the story" at WrestleMania XL and became the Undisputed WWE Champion.

It's a championship he still holds proudly today.

Cody Rhodes looks to cement his legacy as the undisputed face of WWE

As 2024 draws to a close, all eyes will be on The American Nightmare as he continues to defend the Undisputed WWE Championship with honor, dignity, and respect. In a way, he's not dissimilar to all-time greats like John Cena — except that, unlike Cena, there is no dissension in the ranks of the WWE Universe.

Cody Rhodes sits in a rare position: a champion who loves the fans and receives an unbelievable amount of love back. There is no scattering of boos when Rhodes walks into an arena, only full, unadulterated cheers.

If SmackDown's move to USA Network on September 13 will be your first taste of experiencing Cody Rhodes, know this: He loves professional wrestling almost too much — but he takes his role as WWE's top champion as seriously as it gets.

Like you, Cody Rhodes is, first and foremost, a wrestling fan — it's just a coincidence that he also happens to be a larger-than-life WWE Superstar.

Catch up on past episodes of SmackDown on Peacock ahead of its move to USA Network.