In late 2012, it looked like Cody Rhodes could emerge as a future main-eventer as he and his family feuded with Triple H and the Authority. Rhodes was fired, then regained his job and wrestled the WWE Tag Team Championships away from the Shield in a huge moment. But it all went downhill after that. Since donning makeup and rechristening himself Stardust, the younger Rhodes brother has seen his WWE career stall while being relegated to the undercard. Now, Stardust is feuding with brother Goldust (and father Dusty Rhodes). While their match at Fastlane left a lot to be desired, Stardusts promo with Dusty afterward was right on-point. Yelling at his father, You killed Cody!... Im not living in your shadow, youre living in mine, as he kicked a fallen Goldust was the most fire and potential hes shown in well over a year. A big hurdle remains, however. The odds of Stardust making it to the upper-card is slim, but if Cody Rhodes were to re-emerge, theres a chance. Its a weird double-edged sword. Cody is rebelling against his family as Stardust, but that character will ultimately hold him back from climbing the ranks. For now those, any forward motion is better than drifting along aimlessly.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
