10 Totally Unnecessary WWE Gimmick Changes

5. Cody Rhodes (Proud Family Man > Stardust)

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WWE

Do yourself a favour. Boot up WWE Network/Peacock, go back in time to late-2013 and watch some of Cody Rhodes' fire opposite The Authority. This seemed like WWE's best crack at turning Cody into a headliner, but they had other things in mind for the guy.

Namely, Stardust.

Cody ditched his proud and dignified defence of his father's legacy to dress up like a mix between Phantasio and Goldust. All those passionate promos about doing Dusty proud were replaced by a prancing clown character who lacked the attention-stealing impact his brother's own gimmick change had mastered in the mid-90s. Yeah, Stardust (homage to Dusty's career or not) was rubbish.

It wasn't necessary either, and that's the worst thing. Cody was hearing great reactions from crowds for sticking it to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and it's hardly like his ring work couldn't match that verbal fire. Then, the face paints came out and it was curtains.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.