10 Secret Messages Wrestlers Sent

6. Stardust Uses Subtext

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When evolving his post-WWE character, Cody Rhodes was inspired by several industry luminaries.

His father was a key influence, of course. He was a very measured and articulate man, drawing indirect inspiration from Nick Bockwinkel, albeit as a face. Cody played a besuited, elegant, timeless figure in contrast to the athletic hybrid super-workers that had almost become indistinguishable from one another. Deep into his AEW run, Cody, by sacrificing his body in an artful, forward-thinking way, operated in a similar way to Mick Foley. He was intent on putting his opponents over and accomplished it with his structural brilliance.

He was also, incredibly enough, inspired by Stardust.

On February 23, 2015, Cody as Stardust cut a promo that had strong parallels with the iconic Road To Double Or Nothing episode that acted as early proof that AEW was set to be something special.

Under the paint, with a barely suppressed fury, Cody cut a dot com digital exclusive promo away from the scripted confines of TV bemoaning the state of the industry. It was barely in character. "I want a steak," he ranted, "but before I get it, I have to cut the fat. The slack is Goldust, but he's not alone. The slack is Big Show, is Kane, is Mark Henry. My only word is "get the Attitude out"." More famously, when accepting the challenge of Dustin Rhodes again in 2019, Cody claimed he was "here to kill the Attitude Era".

In 2015, he was letting people in on a secret: he was sick to the stomach of WWE recycling its past, and was planning to change wrestling's future.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!