"There's a lot of things you could do there"- Teddy Long explains how WWE fumbled current champion's first run in the company (Exclusive)

WWE has many huge stars on its roster, and quite a few of them have had multiple stints with the promotion. Former World Champions like Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, and Rey Mysterio all left the global juggernaut at some point in their career before returning to the promotion.

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long recently blasted the Stamford-based promotion for their treatment of a current star in his first run. The star in question is the Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, who spent a decade with the company before leaving in 2016 and then returning as a megastar in 2022.

Teddy Long was speaking on an episode of The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge. He was disappointed that the promotion didn't know what to do with Cody Rhodes, when he is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes and also had his half-brother, Dustin Rhodes, fka Goldust, on the roster as well.

"They know what to do with anybody that comes in their presence, okay? It's that they don't [do it]. Listen, think about this. How can you not know what to do with a person like Cody Rhodes? He's got a history. His daddy, God rest his soul, how many times he was world champion. He's got a brother there, Dustin. You can take that story, and you could build it with, say, both of them are against each other because one likes the dad, and one thinks the dad gave the other one more time than he did the other. There's a lot of things you could do there." Long said.

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His first run with the company garnered some success for the American Nightmare before it went downhill for him. He won multiple tag team championships during his initial run and even won the Intercontinental Championship twice. However, things took a nosedive from there on, and the Stardust character was the final nail in the coffin on his decade-long tenure with the promotion.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed