Stardust will never, ever be anything but a midcard character. And therein lies the problem. On the April 6 episode of Raw, the bizarre, face-painted lunatic wrestled John Cena in a United States Championship match and never was it more apparent that the character belonged nowhere near a franchise player like Cena. While the man behind the face paint is an immensely talented individual, Stardust is a character that has zero shelf life past the midcard. And that is unfortunate for Cody Rhodes, who has routinely taken awful gimmick ideas and made the absolute most of them, yet still remains lost in the deep, dark abyss that is the midcard. The "Dashing" Cody Rhodes gimmick was straight out of the 1980s, but he made it work thanks to his devotion to the character. The deranged side of Rhodes made for television and stands the test of time as his finest work to date, a disfigured pretty boy who lost his grip on reality. Even without a gimmick, who proved himself a talented talker and fine in-ring worker, but it is his performance as Stardust that should be commended as he has continuously thrown himself into the role, despite a lack of sustained attention from WWE Creative. How someone who has proven as adaptable and willing to accept any gimmick put in front of him, only to turn it into gold shortly thereafter, has managed to become so entrenched in the midcard is beyond this writer. One thing is for certain, though, and that is that Rhodes will never have the opportunity to sniff the main event if he is expected to continue on with the Stardust character, wasting the prime years of his career on something so blatantly designed for a specific slot on the card.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
