'It was downhill from there' - Arn Anderson on the moment Cody Rhodes' WWE career changed

Arn Anderson believes Cody Rhodes’ WWE career was never the same after his alliance with Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr. ended.

Speaking on the latest episode of his ARN podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer discussed every match and segment from WWE TLC 2010. The show featured a comedy segment which saw The Big Show remove Cody Rhodes’ suit in front of the live crowd.

Cody Rhodes reacted as though he was embarrassed by the situation, despite the fact that his underwear looked similar to his usual wrestling trunks. The Big Show laughed at his rival but the fans in attendance did not appear to see the funny side.

Anderson, who worked as a WWE producer at the time, now works alongside Cody Rhodes in AEW. He implied that the uncomfortable segment was an example of Rhodes being willing to do whatever he is asked.

“I think he probably earned a spot with AEW that night. Karma’s a b****. He was willing to go out there with that cast of characters, and Show, God bless Show, to be a legitimate monster, giant, Godzilla. [He] has been put in some precarious, rotten situations over the years and this was just another one. It was ‘haha’ and no ‘haha’ because the guy you’re trying to get the ‘haha’ on didn’t have any heat.”

Anderson added that Cody Rhodes’ WWE career went downhill after his Legacy storyline came to an end.

“For the life of them, they could not figure out how to use Cody after he and Randy and Ted Jr. broke up. It was just downhill, downhill from there, and this was not a stellar night. I always knew he was capable of so much more.”

Please credit ARN and give a H/T to SK Wrestling for the transcription if you use these quotes.

Cody Rhodes in The Legacy

The Legacy debuted in WWE in September 2008 and disbanded in April 2010. The group’s dissension led to a Triple Threat match between Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Ted DiBiase Jr. at WrestleMania XXVI. Orton picked up the victory to bring an end to the storyline, while Cody Rhodes moved to SmackDown shortly after the match.

THE belt in professional wrestling - @tntdrama #aew pic.twitter.com/bUtnGCgjd8

— Cody (@CodyRhodes) October 16, 2020

Cody Rhodes continued to perform in various different roles in WWE over the next six years, including a stint as the Stardust character. He received his release from WWE in 2016 and went on to work for promotions including IMPACT Wrestling and NJPW. Nowadays, Cody Rhodes is an Executive Vice President in AEW.