10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (16 Nov)

3. Stephanie McMahon First Suggested Stardust

On the same episode of Talk Is Jericho in which he owned up to being "RKO Bump Guy", Cody Rhodes also had another, even more interesting story to tell.

In the midst of a hot run alongside his brother Goldust against The Authority, Cody was pulled aside and told that he had to start painting his face. That's how Stardust was born, and it was Stephanie McMahon who came up with the idea; Cody wasn't into it at first, but he had no choice because Vince, the man with final say, loved his daughter's plan.

Scrambling, Rhodes began pitching ideas of a superhero-style character that'd contrast nicely with Goldust without aping his long-standing gimmick. Stephanie disagreed with Cody's belief that he should be different to Goldie. To her and her father, it was important that the duo had a similar aesthetic.

So, it was Stephanie all along. She was the one who first suggested the face paints, and she was the one responsible for Goldust-lite. Rhodes, seeing that Vince was super-into the idea, was powerless to veto it and do something/anything else.