Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has often spoken about “finishing the story,” but in a recent, emotionally charged interview, The American Nightmare revealed the deeply personal burden behind that journey, including the lingering shame he carries from his time portraying the Stardust character.
Appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast (watch below), Rhodes opened up about the lowest chapter of his first WWE run, sharing candid reflections about his struggles, the loss of his father Dusty Rhodes, and how it nearly derailed his career.
Cody admitted that toward the end of his first WWE tenure, he became disillusioned with creative direction, particularly being saddled with the Stardust gimmick. The frustration took a toll on him professionally and personally. “I was losing my relationship with people I had worked with for years… I was really just kind of developing into a bad apple,” Rhodes confessed.
He described feeling trapped in the gimmick, with his backstage demeanor suffering as a result — something he looks back on with clear regret.
What stings the most for Rhodes is that his legendary father, Dusty Rhodes, passed away while Cody was still locked into the Stardust persona — never getting to witness his son’s rise to main-event greatness. “That was the thing I was most ashamed of… my dad didn’t get to do any of the good stuff for his kid,” he said. “That’s the thing that bummed me out the most. I wanted to give my dad the WWE Championship. There’s nothing fake about that story or that quest.”
He went on to describe the “immense shame” he still feels, having been stuck in a gimmick he despised during Dusty’s final days. “I still feel like immense shame over [that period]… He just missed everything. I couldn’t get out of that spot. I felt trapped. I was trapping myself.”
Rhodes credited his wife, Brandi Rhodes, for supporting him through that emotionally taxing time.
After years away from WWE, reinvention in AEW, and a triumphant return, Cody finally fulfilled the dream at WrestleMania 40, where he dethroned Roman Reigns to become the Undisputed WWE Champion — in a moment that felt like a crowning tribute to Dusty.
For Rhodes, the championship win wasn’t just about legacy — it was redemption, both for himself and the father who believed in him unconditionally. “This was the thing he didn’t get. I’m going to be the one to get it for you, and we can have it.”
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