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WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes is now The American Nightmare, but he was once known as Stardust. Two characters, same wrestler. However, the 2023 Royal Rumble winner admitted in the recent past that the Stardust gimmick is not something he looks back on fondly.
During his NXT days as "Husky Harris," absent star Bray Wyatt's mentor was Cody Rhodes. The former Universal Champion worked with Cody for a few months before moving to the main roster and being plunged into the Nexus storyline.
While Cody Rhodes' immediate future seems pretty clear, with a third chapter just waiting to explode between him and Brock Lesnar, Bray Wyatt remains on hiatus. It was recently revealed that the latter is expected to be back for a match at SummerSlam.
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When a fan posted on Twitter the possibility of a Firefly Funhouse sequel from Bray Wyatt's match against John Cena at WrestleMania 36, Rhodes' name popped up as an apt adversary for The Eater of Worlds.
Here are some thoughts from the WWE Universe on a potential feud between Cody Rhodes and Bray Wyatt:
One fan drew comparisons to Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend feud in 2019, claiming that Cody Rhodes vs. Bray Wyatt would be a terrible idea considering both stars need to rack up wins:
The latest report states that WWE intends to continue Wyatt's feud with Bobby Lashley, which had to be shelved from the WrestleMania 39 match card owing to the former's undisclosed medical issue.
Cody Rhodes recalls the Stardust gimmick and leaving WWE
When Rhodes returned in early 2022, he broke the internet, sending the WWE Universe into a frenzy, and subsequently worked a fantastic trilogy of contests against Seth Rollins. Today, he is a Royal Rumble winner, and it's only a matter of time before he captures world championship gold.
Following his Rumble win earlier this year, The American Nightmare got to talking about his previous gimmick, Stardust, during an interview with HOT 97:
"Stardust is like a Facebook status 'it's complicated.' There were things about it I really did love. But then there were things about it that hurt so much. And one of the reasons I always did everything in full gimmick, I was not able to do it halfway. I would've broke doing it ha.... Okay, if we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it."
Cody Rhodes realized that he would never get to where he wanted to be and win WWE's top prize with the Stardust gimmick, which was closely associated with his brother Dustin Rhodes' character Goldust.
"As a kid, all I ever wanted was the top position, the franchise spot, to win the championship that my dad never won and all of that. But Stardust got me so far away where you start to finally ask yourself, 'okay,' and I never had one but, 'what's your Plan B? Okay, can you live with this?' and the answer was 'no,'" he said.
In more ways than one, the Stardust gimmick was a nightmare for Rhodes, which makes his potential rivalry with Bray Wyatt and the return of the Firefly Funhouse Match a perfect setting to explore the darker side of The American Nightmare.
