Dashing: The Legacy of WWE's Cody Rhodes
How Cody Rhodes is evolving into one of the top stars in the WWE today.
In the WWE, a Superstars career is made and broken on your personality and gimmick. You could have the best in-ring ability in the world, but if you cant find a way to connect with the audience and tell a story, there is a good chance your name will be on the Future Endeavours list. Roster members like Santino Marella arent beloved by the WWE Universe because of their technical abilities (or lack thereof), but because their character and showmanship has always entertained them and made them laugh. In the world of Sports Entertainment, as WWE calls it, wrestling ability is almost secondary. This is something that Cody Rhodes has clearly learned during his time in the company. I remember watching his very first appearance back in 2007, in a backstage segment with his father, the charismatic and much loved Dusty Rhodes, and Randy Orton. He would continue to appear by his fathers side while the story between Rhodes Senior and Orton continued, and soon after we got to see him in the ring. Let me say this up front: Cody Rhodes is a fantastic wrestler. I thought that from his very first match and have never thought otherwise, but he had a severe Achillies Heel: he had no defining characteristics, no real personality. He was just there. Then along came Ted DiBiase, son of the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, arguably one of the WWEs biggest heels of the 80s and early 90s. Teds first appearance was very different to Codys. He stood on the hulking great entrance stage one night on RAW and talked about how he was, in his own words, Priceless. It was arrogant, well spoken, and crucially, it showed personality. It wasnt long before Rhodes and DiBiase were put together as a tag team and began their rise in status within the WWE, with the World Tag Team Championships in their grasp. 
But I always felt that Cody was in Teds shadow the entire time. While they were both very gifted in the ring and were given equal amounts of interview and tv time, Teds personality seemed the stronger. His promos were sharper, made more of an impact on the audience and generally came across better that Codys. Cody just came across like a kid in high school buddying up with the bully. We never really saw any personality or character from him. It wasnt from lack of trying, it just somehow never seemed to connect with the WWEs audience. This became the case for both Rhodes and DiBiase when they were then packaged together to form the group Legacy. Legacy was a great premise: Three third generation wrestlers from famous wrestling families, the veteran Randy Orton taking the young upstarts Rhodes and DiBiase under his wing and moulding him in them in his image. The Future Is Now: With DiBiase and Orton as Legacy
And sadly, that was actually the same reason why Legacy was flawed. While they were a very entertaining and interesting stable, Cody and Ted often took a back seat to Ortons storylines. When the storyline culminated in a Triple Threat Match between the three at WrestleMania XXVI, the match was more or less all Orton. It was a symbolic representation of the group as a whole: two very talented up and coming Superstars whose abilities were subdued and held back while the veteran Orton was made to look unstoppable. It was a shame that WWE didnt take the opportunity to give one of them a big push via a win, but Im neither a booker nor on the creative team, so thats a moot point. After this, Orton went back into World Championship storylines, DiBiase was thrust into singles limelight with a beautiful woman by his side, and Codys presence was relegated to the occasional showcase match and on screen appearances alongside his father Dusty and brother Dustin, better known as Goldust. But then, something interesting happened. WWEs official magazine carried out a poll amongst their Divas roster, quizzing them on who they felt was the best looking Superstar in the company. The winner? Cody Rhodes. How did we find this information out? We had Cody stride into the ring, sharply dressed in a suit and smiling smugly as he proceeded to share this news with the WWE Universe, demanding that from now on we all addressed him as Dashing Cody Rhodes. A point the emphasised by repeating that name over. And over. And over. And it was brilliant.
For the first time since hed made his debut, I took notice of Cody. The audience as a whole took notice. His promo had struck a chord with us. It was perfectly executed, with the exact amount of narcissism a promo like that needed. It made us hate him. And for the first time, it wasnt because of his associates, it was because of him. Week in, week out we were treated to segments featuring Cody giving us grooming tips, constantly reminding us of both his immaculate appearance and our unsightly bodies. He walked out to the ring striding in a leather jacket, admiring his appearance in a mirror and in matches he would quite simply freak out if anyone so much as landed a light slap on his face. Finally, Cody was connecting with the audience, and it was working. But fate has a habit of throwing a curve ball at us, and this is especially true of wrestlers. During a televised match on SmackDown with Rey Mysterio, Mysterios knee landed square in Codys face as he executed his signature manoeuvre, the 619, instantly breaking his nose. We didnt see Cody the next week. Normally, when things like these happen in the WWE, the Superstar recuperates and then picks up exactly where he left off. Not Cody though. He walked out with a protective mask, and cut a promo declaring vengeance on Rey for destroying his looks. He performed it as an unhinged, broken man; a tortured psyche whose superficial loss of good looks put him on the road to madness. Week after week he would come out and talk about how we all wear masks to hide our true, ugly selves, and each week he would come across slightly more unhinged. The storyline came to its conclusion with a match at WrestleMania XXVII that stood out to me as the highlight. He put on a great performance, and now had a character that interested and connected with the audience. It felt like Cody had come of age. Masked Men: Cody vs. Rey Mysterio at this years Wrestlemania
And from there it just got more and more interesting. Over the summer we have been introduced to two well dressed men who are constantly by Codys side. They are instructed to hand out paper bags to the audience so that he does not have to see their disgusting, grotesque features, and to hide the shame of their pointless lives. And, amazingly, more and more members of the audience would take and wear these with glee. They would cheer Cody as he came to the ring, walking in a stoop, his leather jacket now adorning a hood, giving him a passing resemblance to Quasimodo, and if he won his matches they would chant for him to place a bag over his fallen opponents. This next step in Codys career hadnt just connected with its audience, it had been embraced with open arms. That feeling was driven home to me during a recent pay per view. Just before his match, Cody grabbed a microphone and placed his Intercontinental Championship in a paper bag, and then was presented with a variation of the titles old design by one of his baggers. As he did this, he said it represents the uglyness of the current WWE Universe. How did the audience respond to this? The cheered wildly. There Cody was, belittling and insulting both the company and its audience, and they loved every second of it. 
Which brings me to the very point of this article. Codys development from fresh faced hot shot to demented fan favourite has given me the opinion that Cody Rhodes will be the next breakout star of the WWE, the first of the next generation world champions. Every time he cuts a promo in the ring, every time he displays a little bit more of his characters broken mental state, the WWE Universe cheers for more. He is articulate, he is dynamic, and most importantly he is entertaining. In an interesting twist of fate, while his former partner Ted DiBiase is making sporadic showcase appearances and meandering on supplement shows, Cody is becoming involved in some of the WWEs major storylines, including the power struggle storyline Triple H is currently going though. He is being given time to go out and talk however he sees fit before his matches, and the WWE seemingly has enough faith in him to take any opportunity to further his character. Case in point: a recent match with Randy Orton, when a shot to the side of the head with a timekeeper bell caused a nasty gash and resulted in stitches. Rather than just proceeding like it never happened, as is often the case when WWEs performers are cut open during matches, Cody has since come out to the ring, acknowledge the damage, and perform even more unhinged and psychotic. Its also given them an opportunity to revisit the rivalry with Randy Orton, and push Cody that little stage further towards the upper echelon of the WWE roster. I honestly think he will get there. He consistently performs great matches, and has established a deep connection with the audience. He is on the cusp of great things in the WWE. And when he gets there, I will sit back and admire the journey he made. It will have been, in a word, Dashing.