Cody Runnels (born June 30, 1985), better known by the ring name Cody Rhodes, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to the WWE, performing on the Raw brand, where he is the WWE Champion in his first reign.
Runnels, the son of the late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes and the half-brother of WWE wrestler Goldust, previously worked in WWE under the ring names Cody Rhodes and later Stardust. After an amateur wrestling career that resulted in becoming a two-time Georgia state champion, he followed his father and older brother's footsteps into the professional ranks and joined WWE. After becoming a Triple Crown Champion in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's developmental territory at the time, he was elevated to the main roster, where he became a two-time Intercontinental Champion. A prolific tag team wrestler, Rhodes has won five tag team championships (three World Tag Team Championships and two WWE Tag Team Championships) with four separate tag team partners. Along with Goldust, he also won the 2013 Tag Team of the Year Slammy Award. Runnels left WWE after requesting his release in May 2016.
Following his departure from WWE, Runnels began wrestling in the international independent circuit and found success in numerous promotions. In the space of a year, he competed at WWE's WrestleMania, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's (PWG) Battle of Los Angeles, ROH's Final Battle and NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom events, as well as making his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at Bound for Glory in a non-competing capacity. Runnels has also wrestled for WhatCulture Pro Wrestling (WCPW), where he is a former and the longest reigning WCPW Internet Champion; Northeast Wrestling (NEW), where he is the current NEW Heavyweight Champion; Alpha-1 Wrestling (A1), where he is one-half of the A1 Tag Team Champions with Ethan Page; and Global Force Wrestling, where he was the one time and final GFW Nex*Gen Champion. Rhodes returned to the WWE roughly a year after his release taking part in the World Cup of Wrestling.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling (2016–2017)[]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2016–2019)[]
Return to the WWE (2017–2019)[]
In May 2017 Rhodes returned to the WWE as part of the World Cup of Wrestling, he took part in the United States qualifying bracket which he won defeating Roman Reigns in the quarter-finals, AJ Styles in the semi-finals and Matt Sydal in the final to qualify for the main tournament in July.
At the main tournament Rhodes was drawn against the winner of the South Korean bracket Monzkid in the first round, he defeated him to face the German winner Alexander Wolfe. It was also confirmed Rhodes had since a zero days contract allowing Rhodes to work for the WWE when he wants a similar contract to that of Will Ospreay. During the live finale Rhodes defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to qualify for the final before defeating Tyler Bate in the final to win the World Cup of Wrestling.
Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler | Karl Gotch and Rene Goulet | King Curtis Iaukea and Mikel Scicluna | Sonny King and Chief Jay Strongbow | Mr. Fuji and Professor Tanaka | Haystacks Calhoun and Tony Garea | Tony Garea and Dean Ho | The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy Valiant and Johnny Valiant) | Dominic DeNucci and Victor Rivera/Pat Barrett | The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza) | Louis Cerdan and Tony Parsi | The Executioners (Executioner #1 and Executioner #2) | Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf | Dino Bravo and Dominic DeNucci | The Yukon Lumberjacks (Yukon Eric and Yukon Pierre) | Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko | The Valiant Brothers (Jerry Valiant and Johnny Valiant)
1980s
The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika) | Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales | Tony Garea and Rick Martel | The Moondogs (Rex, King and Spot) | Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito | Jules and Chief Jay Strongbow | Soul Patrol (Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas) | The North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch) | The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) | The Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff | The Dream (Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine) | The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith) | The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) | Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) | Demolition (Ax and Smash) | The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) | The Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku)