7 Wrestlers Who Quit WWE Over Angles

3. Cody

If it wasn't for the stupendously terrible 'Stardust' character, wrestling fans might not be luxuriating in the weekly wonder that is AEW Dynamite today.

The genesis of WWE's biggest competitor in over two decades can be traced back to the summer of 2014, when, for no good reason whatsoever, WWE thought it sensible to split the superb sibling pairing of Goldust and Cody Rhodes so that the latter could embark on a solo career as a PVC-clad spaceman.

A fortnight after ditching his aureate older brother, Cody assumed the new name of 'Stardust', inspired by the one his father had used in the AWA. There was a big difference: Verne hadn't made Dusty paint his face silver, squeeze into a jumpsuit and caw at the crowd like an interstellar raven.

It sounds sh*t, and it was sh*t. Cody's natural charisma was completely buried under a gimmick which had no chance whatsoever of getting him over. But he stuck with it - even when, contrary to his express wishes, he was forced into a polka dot variety of the outfit in 'homage' to his late dad at WrestleMania 32. The incident only ramped up his frustrations with the character, and after apparently pleading with WWE for the better part of six months to drop it, he left in May 2016. The rest, as they say, is an overused cliché.