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“Rock Star” Cody Rhodes Praised For Reinventing Himself After Initial WWE Departure

By Gaurav Singh • Published May 12, 2026 07:27 EDT
Cody Rhodes WWE
Cody Rhodes (Image Source-WWE.com)

A WWE Hall of Famer highly praised Cody Rhodes for revamping himself as a top star after a setback. The veteran in question is Booker T.

Cody Rhodes spent his entire first run in the WWE from 2007 to 2016 as a mid-carder. Following his initial departure from the company, Cody reinvented himself on the independent scene before a great run in NJPW. He also helped start AEW in 2019 and was a top name there before leaving and returning to the WWE in 2022.

In his second WWE run, Cody Rhodes has been one of the top guys and has main-evented every WrestleMania since 2023. Rhodes is the current undisputed WWE Champion as well. The Hall of Famer, Booker T has nothing but praise for The American Nightmare.

Cody Rhodes applauded for reinventing himself after WWE departure in 2016

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T praised Cody Rhodes for proving his worth by doing all the independent shows after leaving the WWE in 2016:

Cody was the redheaded stepchild who just didn’t fit in. Cody had to go out there and prove his worth, not just to the world, but to himself. He went away, he did a hell of a job. I remember seeing Cody out there on a lot of those independent shows. Man, he was so, so professional.”

Booker further declared Cody a “Rock Star”:

He looked so much different than anybody else in the locker rooms out there. And I go, ‘Man, this dude, he’s really, really building something.’ And all those fans on those independent shows, they were gravitating to him. It was like he was a rock star. And I thought, ‘Man, he’s really, really doing it.’”

Booker T concluded that Cody Rhodes didn’t have to do all those indie shows because he was from a wrestling family, but he still went out there to prove himself:

Cody’s a guy who came from pretty much a royal family in professional wrestling. He didn’t have to go out and ever do an independent show if he didn’t want to. So for him to actually go out there and do that, he told me a lot about his character.” [h/t 411Mania]

After successfully retaining his WWE title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42, Cody Rhodes is challenged by Gunther. Cody will defend his title against The Ring General at the Clash in Italy PLE later this month.

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