10 Things We Learned From Cody Rhodes On Stone Cold’s Broken Skull Sessions Podcast
5. His Eventual Embarrassment
Of course, any positive spin he might've been willing to put on the Stardust concept was never going to last. It became so embarrassing to him that Cody began showing up for WWE's personal appearances in full costume. Some applauded his commitment to the cause, but the the truth was a little darker.
He was mortified.
Rhodes described himself as "the sad clown" whenever he'd sign autographs or speak to fans. It was hard enough to tolerate playing Stardust in 2016 on TV, but to show up in front of a few hundred onlookers at a shopping mall and sign your name? That was torture for the man.
By May that year, Cody had suffered enough. He requested his release from the promotion, and both sides expressed frustrations with each other. Regardless, fessing up to WWE about his unhappiness was better than being embarrassed to even show up in front of wrestling fans at all.