Possible reason why Cody's Stardust gimmick failed in WWE

While speaking on his podcast, ARN, former WWE Backstage agent Arn Anderson talked about Cody and why his Stardust gimmick failed in WWE.

Cody was a part of WWE from 2006 till 2016 and in those 10 years played some colourful characters. None more so than Stardust. Stardust was a character similar to that played by his brother Goldust. The two men were part of a tag-team for sometime, and while Goldust has become an iconic character over the years, Stardust failed to take off despite Cody's best effort.

Arn Anderson believes that one of the reasons why such outlandish characters do not work in today's day and age is that these characters are not a version of the real-life personality of the Superstar.

Cody put everything he could into the Stardust gimmick but that's not who he is, that's not who he ever is going to be.The biggest mistake I would tell any young guy in this business is a guy playing a character. If you are you being you and the more you take being you down, the worse it is. You have to take the real you and make it a little louder, colorful and intelligent, it's hard to screw up being you. That's who Cody wanted to be, even though he gave it 120%, he still wanted to be Cody.

While Cody had already won accolades such as winning the IC Championship and tag-team Championship, he was repackaged in 2014 to become Stardust. While Cody did a remarkable job of trying to make his character interesting, WWE was not quite invested in the character and it drifted into the mid-card before Cody left the company in 2016.

Cody after WWE

Cody has made a major name for himself after leaving WWE, working for companies such as ROH,NJPW and Impact Wrestling before becoming a founding member and VP of AEW. Even Stardust's brother Goldust has joined AEW, now known as 'The Natural' Dustin Rhodes.

What did you think of Cody's Stardust gimmick? Do you think Cody would have had a better chance of succeeding if he stayed away from such a persona? Tell us below!