"They weren't open to his ideas" - Teil Runnels on Cody Rhodes' frustrations during first run with WWE (Exclusive)

Teil Runnels recently spoke about her brother Cody Rhodes' first run with WWE from 2006-2016 and his struggle to move out of the mid-card.

While he's one of the biggest and most recognizable names on the roster today, this wasn't always the case during Cody's first tenure with the global juggernaut. The American Nightmare was saddled with the Stardust gimmick for a large part of his run, which never allowed him to break into the main event picture.

In a chat with Bill Apter of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Teil Runnels revealed that their whole family was frustrated with her brother, Cody Rhodes' standing in WWE. She added that after Dusty Rhodes' passing, there was no one in the promotion who pushed for the 37-year-old to become a prominent player on the roster.

"Yeah, we were all frustrated. My dad and I even spoke on the phone, and that was not a top-guy character. He was never gonna move out of the mid-card. Really the frustration had been setting in before Dream passed. But after he passed, there was nobody thinking of Cody in the top guy position, and you could see the frustration in some of the backstage footage and just us as the family," said Teil Runnels.

Teil Runnels added that this was when even Cody began to question his status in WWE, as the promotion wasn't receptive to his ideas and pitches.

"I knew him and Brandi all the time; he told her, 'What can I do to get out of this goofy character?' They weren't open to his ideas or how he saw himself," added Teil Runnels. [0:54 - 1:47]

Check out the full video below:

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Bill Apter wants Cody Rhodes vs. David Flair in WWE

On a recent episode of The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, Bill Apter discussed WWE possibly kickstarting a Rhodes vs. Flair feud. He believes this could be an opportunity for David Flair to come out of retirement and take on Cody Rhodes.

"If David Flair came out of retirement and got himself to do this. Cody vs. David Rhodes; that might do it," said Bill Apter.

The American Nightmare was in action on last week's episode of WWE RAW, where he defeated Finn Balor in the night's headlining bout.

Check out the website for The Dusty Rhodes Foundation, which aims to help sporting talents from disadvantaged and underserved communities.

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