10 Funniest Cody Rhodes Moments, Ranked
Whether you love him or hate him, Cody Rhodes is one of the most talked-about wrestlers today. The American Nightmare started his career in WWE, where his family name quickly helped him gain notoriety. Then, his career took a sharp turn when he decided to bet on himself and leave WWE.
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Some of these were instances of Cody trying to be funny on purpose. Others are more unfortunate mishaps. With that in mind, let’s get into the list.
10 Cody’s Hideous Mustache
In 2012, for whatever reason, Cody Rhodes decided to grow a mustache. He debuted the look in Newark, New Jersey, during a segment alongside his allies at the time, The Miz and Damien Sandow. The live crowd immediately reacted to the look, mocking him with chants of “Cody’s Mustache.” The reception on social media was not any better; fans reacted viscerally to Cody’s new facial hair, immediately piling jokes onto the WWE superstar.
9 “¿De Qué Quieres Hablar?”
This year, WWE put on its first show in Puerto Rico in over two decades. WWE Backlash, the follow-up to WrestleMania, was held in San Juan this past May. The excitement leading up to the event couldn’t have been any higher. Cody, a headlining talent of the PLE, spoke to fans the day before at a press conference. He decided to get cheeky with the fans in attendance by saying his signature catch phrase, “What do you guys want to talk about?” in Spanish for the Puerto Rican crowd. The audience ate it up, applauding and cheering for the American Nightmare.
8 Cody’s Dramatic Selling Of Brock Lesnar’s Attack
Any fan of Cody will know that he has a knack for theatrics. Whether it’s a heartfelt promo or a hardfought match, Cody will always put on a performance for the ages. He turned his acting up to 11 on an episode of Raw, when he was jumped by the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar.
Cody made his way to the back, stumbling, limping and even tripping and falling to the floor. Fans were quick to make memes about the display.
7 Cody Ends Racism
One of the most bizarre moments of Cody’s AEW career came during the build up to Double or Nothing 2021, when Cody was feuding with Anthony Ogogo. Cody gave an incredibly emotional, tone-deaf promo about racism in the US, and how he wanted to represent the American Dream in his match with Ogogo.
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The promo probably came from a good place, but a white man preaching about racism becomes awkward very, very easily. The promo was made more ironic by the fact that Cody’s opponent was a mixed race immigrant who rose to success through his own talent and hard work, meaning that he embodied the “American Dream” more than Cody ever could. Oh, well.
6 Cody “Retires” In AEW
After a brutal loss to the debuting Malakai Black, Cody got a bit emotional in the ring. He began tearing up and unlaced his wrestling boots before setting them in the middle of the ring. This has been a traditional symbol that a wrestler is retiring. Malakai, though, moved into frame like a video game jumpscare and brought Cody back to reality.
5 His Entire Run As Stardust
Really, who thought this was a good idea? To match his older brother, Goldust, WWE gave Cody the gimmick Stardust. Every aspect of the character, from his gear, to his face paint, to his diction, was absolutely absurd. Looking at how successful Cody is now as a down-to-earth babyface, it’s a wonder why he was ever given such a bizarre gimmick.
4 Cody Beats Himself For The WWE Tag Team Championship
Cody has an interesting accolade in WWE; he is the only superstar to ever win a title from himself. This happened at Night of Champions in 2008, when the defending World Tag Team Champions, Bob Holly and Cody Rhodes, were set to take on Ted DiBiase Jr. and his mystery partner. However, the mystery partner turned out to be Cody himself. Cody and Ted were victorious in their title endeavor, making Cody the only wrestler in WWE to defeat himself for a championship.
3 The Failed Double Or Nothing Weigh-In Segment
The Spring of 2021 was a tough time for Cody. His feud against Anthony Ogogo was already being negatively received due to Cody’s tone deaf promos and the debut of QT Marshall’s odd faction, the Factory. The awkwardness came to a head during a weigh-in segment just before Ogogo and Cody’s match at Double or Nothing. They used an old-fashioned scale, which Paul Wight was unable to figure out. Both wrestlers have lamented the flop of a segment, with Ogogo going as far as to call it “f*cking dog sh*t.”
2 Cody Gets Embarrassed By Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson has been signed with AEW ever since 2019 as a coach and manager. For a long time, the Enforcer was Cody’s manager and cornerman, accompanying the American Nightmare to all his matches and giving him advice.
On one fateful episode of Dynamite in September 2021, Arn got fed up with Cody’s melodrama. He scolded and berated Cody, going so far as to make up a hypothetical car robbery to get his point across. This promo, now simply known as “Arn’s glock promo,” continues to be a fan-favorite moment even 2 years later.
1 The Rubber Chicken
At Wrestlemania 39, Cody suffered one of the most devastating losses in WWE history. A stadium of tens of thousands of people watched Cody take on Roman Reigns, hoping to see the American Nightmare finally dethrone the nefarious Tribal Chief. To their shock, Cody Rhodes came up short.
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The audience stared at the defeated challenger with open mouths. Then, someone threw a rubber chicken in the ring. It bounced off Cody, who was laying face down on the canvas, and landed right next to him. It was almost like the chicken flew in just to mock him.
