10 WWE Stars Who Went From Undesirable To Undeniable

This article is based on Cody's tagline and it's well deserved.

Unlike others on this list, Rhodes didn't have a hard time breaking into the business. As the son of one of the most legendary and influential wrestlers of all time, his pathway was assured. But you need only look at Dustin Rhodes, who had a hard time escaping his father's shadow, to see the hard work the man had to do to forge his own path.

And for a long time, it looked like that might never happen. The noble failure that was Legacy served only to get Randy Orton over, and by the end of his first run in WWE, the 'American Nightmare' was painted up like his brother in the disastrous Stardust gimmick. In 2016, he asked for his release and WWE, not seeing any potential in the son of Dusty Rhodes, granted it.

Cody bet on himself. He wrote down the list of opponents. He took over the Bullet Club. He won the Ring of Honor Championship. The NWA Heavyweight Championship. The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. Along with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, he formed the Elite, which would see them sell out a 10,000 seater arena for the first ever All In. Without Cody, there would be no All Elite Wrestling.

After his star burnt out in the company he built, the two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion shocked the world once more and returned to the WWE to finish his story as a different entity entirely.