8 Times Wrestling Carnies Got Out-Carnied
2. Cody Uses The Rhodes Name Thanks To His Wife
Before he was comfortably WWE's top babyface and arguably the most over hero in all of wrestling, Cody Rhodes was a star who wasn't even legally allowed to use his legendary last name outside of the world of sports entertainment.
Whenever he showed up in the likes of NJPW, ROH, TNA, and even AEW in the years after his WWE release, the 'American Nightmare' would simply be announced as "Cody" due to WWE owning the "Cody Rhodes" trademark.
However, he did actually find a genius way to get around the carnie known as Vince McMahon not letting him use his father's iconic last name at times.
Often, when Cody and his wife Brandi were announced to be heading down to the ring together, said announcers would typically say "Cody & Brandi Rhodes", which technically doesn't class as using the "Cody Rhodes" name, right?
Cody's @CodyRhodes Twitter/X handle would also sometimes be visible on-screen when the star was making his entrance, and AEW would even go as far as to really highlight that last name whenever Brandi was accompanying him to the ring, too.
Thankfully, though, the days of having to sneak the Rhodes name into Cody's entrances ultimately ended in 2020 when WWE finally surrendered the trademark.