If you’ve followed Cody Rhodes for a while, you know he’s switched names more than once. The guy started as Cody Runnels, but eventually, he fought to get back the “Rhodes” name his dad—Dusty Rhodes—made famous. That road wasn’t exactly smooth.

Cody broke into WWE pretty young. In his early 20s, he joined their developmental system, and just days after turning 22, he wrestled his first match on “WWE Raw.” He wasn’t an instant headliner, but he showed up on TV a lot in those first years. Then, in 2014, things took a weird turn. Vince McMahon decided Cody should drop the Rhodes name and take up a new persona—Stardust. Suddenly, he’s in a sparkly getup, kind of echoing his stepbrother Dustin, who fans know as Goldust. Cody played along, but he’s called the whole Stardust thing “awful.” The storylines got more ridiculous, and finally, Cody had enough. He asked WWE to let him go in 2016, and they agreed. Only problem? He couldn’t use the Cody Rhodes name anymore—at least, not right away.

So, Cody hit the indie circuit. WWE owned “Cody Rhodes,” so he just went by Cody. Luckily, his team found a clever loophole.

Cody’s wife, Brandi, also left WWE around then. She’d worked as a ring announcer but never performed as “Brandi Rhodes,” so she was able to trademark the name herself. Just like that, Cody and Brandi Rhodes became a duo on the wrestling scene.

For a while, nobody really knew if Cody would ever get his last name back. WWE seemed unlikely to hand over the trademark, especially after Cody went and helped launch AEW. But in 2020, WWE gave it up. Cody finally snagged the rights to his name and could call himself Cody Rhodes again in AEW.

Maybe WWE was feeling generous, or maybe they just realised it was time, but it all worked out. Cody eventually left AEW and came back to WWE in 2022. Now, he’s one of their biggest stars—and the first Rhodes ever to win a world title in WWE. Pretty wild journey, honestly.

Bully Ray didn’t hold back when he talked about Austin Theory’s new attitude on WWE TV. He thinks Theory’s tough-guy act just isn’t clicking—it feels forced.

On "Busted Open," Baron Corbin (who used to go by Bishop Dyer in WWE) actually had some good things to say about Theory. He likes Theory’s look and his athletic ability, but the whole “angry face” thing? He’s not buying it. Corbin pointed out that ever since Theory was unmasked as the mystery man and joined "The Vision" on the December 29 episode of "Raw," he’s been trying a little too hard with that scowl. Bully Ray agreed completely.

Ray broke it down: “Honestly, this is a huge opportunity for Austin Theory. It’s a great faction for him. But when I watched him in the ring last night with Heyman and the crew, I couldn’t stop staring at his hands. One was clenched in a fist; the other was kind of halfway there. His face had that forced tough look—like he was trying to play the part but not really feeling it. The body language said it all: ‘I’m not comfortable; I’m just trying to look tough.’ And when you’re trying too hard in wrestling, it never looks natural.”

Ray also said that maybe he and Corbin pick up on this stuff more than most. They know what it’s like to be legit tough, so they can spot when someone’s faking it—like Theory, who looks nervous and under pressure. People used to say Theory was Vince McMahon’s next big thing, but since Triple H took over, he hasn’t really taken off. Still, with this new run alongside The Vision and Paul Heyman guiding him, things could turn around. Heyman has helped plenty of wrestlers find their groove. Theory just has to relax and stop forcing it.