8 Radical Ideas To Save Cody Rhodes
2. The Two Faces Of Cody
Of course, the remainder of this article presupposes that ‘Cody Rhodes’ and ‘Stardust’ are mutually exclusive gimmicks: that the return of one means the absence of the other.
But why not have 'Cody Rhodes' and 'Stardust' be different facets of Cody Runnels' personality? I mean, his sanity has already been called into question. Why not run the thing as a dissociative identity disorder?
Mick Foley ran four gimmicks at once while mostly sane, and Finn Bálor is NXT Champion despite supposedly having a demon lurking inside him.
Have no one know for sure which one - Rhodes or Stardust - will turn up at any match, anywhere. Recast Cody as the technical wunderkind, a WWE champion-in-waiting; the son of the son of a plumber and the keeper of the American Dream’s legacy.
Reintroduce Stardust as a crazed, unpredictable maniac, a fast and furious lunatic who won’t stay down and can’t be put away by any conventional means.
You can even have Rhodes play the white meat babyface and Stardust the malevolent heel - have the crossover between the two be an uncontrollable thing, and something that fills the noble main event star with quiet despair.
Cody Rhodes is a gifted performer, now let’s see if he can show the difference between the two without make-up.
If he suffers a post-match beatdown, can he effectively play Rhodes transforming into Stardust without the need for the costumery? Given the right appalled note from commentary, Rhodes could conceivably get Stardust over as the Incredible Hulk to his Bruce Banner...