10 Wrestlers Who Were Right To Walk Out On WWE

3. Cody Rhodes (2016)

stardust wwe
WWE.com

This is the final AEW mention on this list, but it's a doozy.

By 2016, Cody Rhodes cut a disconsolate figure chewing up air time on WWE programming as the ridiculous Stardust. Though the gimmick was one he badly wanted to move away from, Cody couldn't convince WWE's writing team that it was the time to shed the face paint and get serious again.

Someone in WWE (maybe Vince) loved that Stardust character and viewed it as Rhodes' future. That horrified Cody to the point that he asked to be released in May 2016. As soon as WWE relented and terminated his contract, Rhodes went about the task of rebuilding lost credibility on the indy scene, in ROH, Impact and New Japan.

Then, he helped form AEW and really came into his own as an entrepreneurial standout. Cody proved he didn't need WWE's cosy nest to earn him a paycheck, and he's successfully building an empire with Tony Khan and other friends brick by brick. In 2020, that Stardust crap is something he can giggle at in passing.

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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.