Cody Rhodes' Body Transformation Over The Years, Told In Photos

Cody Rhodes is one of the biggest success stories in professional wrestling as his journey to returning to WWE as a bigger star after a dismal end to his first run is the best example of how a wrestler can reinvent himself.

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Rhodes went from being Stardust in WWE to being instrumental in the formation of All Elite Wrestling, and he did it on his own merit and hard work despite being the son of the legendary WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. With that said, let's take a look at Cody Rhodes' journey and his body transformation over the years.

10 As A Kid

As mentioned earlier, Cody Rhodes is the son of the legendary WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes and grew up in a wrestling environment right from his childhood.

He knew the struggles of a professional wrestler from a young age as he grew up watching his father undergo extensive training and travel. While he made his in-ring debut years later, he made his first appearance in a wrestling show when he appeared alongside his father in a WCW show, as seen in this picture.

9 High School Days

Growing up in a wrestling family, Cody Rhodes had a natural aptitude for the sport, and he planted the seeds for a potential debut by participating in amateur wrestling while he was in high school.

He had the typical teenager look, as seen in this picture, and he had quite a successful amateur wrestling career in high school as he won the Georgia State tournament in 2003 as a junior and repeated the same in his senior year as well. He wanted to wrestle at the collegiate level but chose to pursue a career in professional wrestling instead.

8 Beginnings In OVW

Cody Rhodes started his wrestling training at the age of 12 under his father, Dusty Rhodes, and he chose to follow in his father's footsteps and started training at Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2006. He had a successful stint in OVW as he teamed up with Shawn Spears to win the OVW World Tag Team Championship and also captured the OVW Heavyweight and Television Championship.

RELATED: The 10 Best WWE Wrestlers To Come From OVW

He finished his training in 2007 and made his WWE main roster debut on the July 2, 2007, episode of Raw in a backstage segment that saw Randy Orton slapping his father Dusty Rhodes.

7 Legacy

Following his main roster debut, Rhodes captured the World Tag Team Championship alongside Hardcore Holly and then for a second time with Ted DiBiase after turning heel on his former partner.

His partnership with Ted DiBiase eventually led to him becoming a part of the Legacy faction alongside Randy Orton. The three superstars went on to dominate their competition and were part of captivating storylines, which culminated with Rhodes and DiBiase turning on Randy Orton leading to a triple threat at WrestleMania 26.

6 Dashing & Undashing Cody Rhodes

Following the Legacy storyline, Cody Rhodes embarked on a singles career and introduced an interesting version of himself to the WWE Universe. He adopted a narcissistic gimmick and claimed to be the best-looking wrestler in WWE and started calling himself "Dashing" Cody Rhodes.

However, after he got his nose broken during a match against Rey Mysterio, he started wearing a protective mask around his face and accused Mysterio of ruining his looks. He also went on to capture the Intercontinental Championship during this phase and had a lengthy run with the title.

5 Team Rhodes Scholars

Following the end of his reign, Cody Rhodes continued to be part of various storylines before forming a partnership with Damien Sandow. They called themselves Team Rhodes Scholars, and Cody Rhodes made a slight change to his appearance by growing out a mustache.

Their partnership ended after Sandow turned on Rhodes during the 2013 World Heavyweight Championship MITB ladder match and ended up winning the contest. The two then feuded for a while with Rhodes dominating Sandow, including a big win at SummerSlam 2013.

4 Stardust

Following his feud with Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes started teaming with his brother Goldust and went on to capture the WWE Tag Team Championships from The Shield. WWE booked some twists and turns into the brothers' partnership which took an unexpected and unpopular turn when Cody Rhodes introduced the Stardust character.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Forget About Cody Rhodes’ Time As Stardust In WWE

The gimmick looked similar to Goldust but only crazier, and it eventually led to creative disagreements between Cody Rhodes and WWE. He ended up asking for his release from the company, which he got in 2016.

3 Blond Rhodes

Following his exit from WWE, Cody Rhodes started performing in the independent circuit for the first time and made some friends in The Young Bucks along the way. He made his debut for promotions like Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling during that phase and debuted a new look by dyeing his hair blond.

He went on to capture major championships like the ROH World Championship, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and the NJPW United States Championship.

2 Neck Tattoo

Cody Rhodes' friendship with The Young Bucks led them to host the All Out event in August 2019, which turned out to be a massive success.

It was soon after this that Cody Rhodes got his neck tattoo, which received some mixed responses from fans and colleagues. Like the tattoo, his AEW career also had some mixed reactions as the fans started treating him like a heel, and coupled with some issues with the EVPs and Tony Khan, Rhodes decided to leave the company in 2022.

1 Return To WWE

Cody Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 and sported the same look from AEW. He started a rivalry with Seth Rollins after defeating him at WrestleMania 38, and he replicated the same feat during their matches at WrestleMania Backlash and Hell in a Cell.

He suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a training session and competed in the Hell in a Cell match despite the injury. He took some time away from the ring to heal and got into good shape during his time away and returned at the 2023 Royal Rumble event and won the men's Royal Rumble match. He was unsuccessful in winning the Undisputed WWE Universal title from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 and has since started a storyline with Brock Lesnar, including a detour featuring Dominik Mysterio.