Cody Rhodes is sporting a new “Dream” tattoo on his chest, obviously a tribute to his father, the late “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Cody revealed on Friday week that he’s currently working on book about his father, who passed away last June.
Check out Cody’s new ink:
https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/726580538799058944
– John Cena and Nikki Bella have been invited to President Obama’s final White House Correspondents Dinner this Saturday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– WWE won 3 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards this past week, including best streaming content service, best mobile app and best social media campaign for Conor’s Cure. It was also announced this week that the WWE Network won a Webby Award for the best online sports channel/network.
– Rusev confirms that he’s done with the dissolving League of Nations stable:
I'm done with LON I'm gonna go so hard motherbrother wanna fine me….. What's another title for a BRUTE like me can you please remind me
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 29, 2016
– Cody Rhodes revealed that he’s writing a book about his father, the late “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes:
https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/726074469299544068
Cody Rhodes, with help from NXT star Tommaso Ciampa, will soon be launching a new charity campaign in honor of Kris Travis, the British wrestler who succumbed to cancer on March 31st. Cody tweeted the following on the campaign, which features the Dusty Rhodes ladder he used at WrestleMania 32:
The campaign for the “Our Ladder” t-shirts should be launching in the next week, however I did want to inform fans that to honor late Pro-Wrestling star Kris Travis, the charity receiving 100% of the profits will be CAVENDISH CANCER CARE.
Full disclosure, I never had the privilege to meet Kris. I know in pro-wrestling gaining the respect of your peers is invaluable and does not come easy. When asked about him, a trusted peer of mine said he was a “good man.”
With the industry muddled in social media-negativity and selfishness we could certainly use more individuals like Kris. With Tommaso Ciampa’s help, I am really looking forward to launching this campaign.
https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/719690112712503296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
When asked by a fan on Twitter about his future, Cody Rhodes aka Stardust revealed his plans for retirement. His father Dusty wrestled until he was 60 years old, and his brother Dustin currently wrestles at 46, but Cody says he’s going to bow out of competition a little sooner.
@PrinceCGR Do you think you will open your own wrestling school and pass on the Rhodes family training? #LearningTreeWrestlingSchool
— The Daily Analyst (@TheDailyAnalyst) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/718106999594979328
Cody started wrestling when he was 21 and is currently 30. According to his current plan, he’ll retire in 2026/2027.
– NXT Diva Eva Marie flew into Philadelphia, PA this morning, site of tonight’s WWE RAW. She posted a video on Snapchat of her getting off an airplane. Eva Marie has not wrestled on WWE television since September 2014.
– When asked on Twitter if the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament will be an annual event in NXT, Cody Rhodes replied:
https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/709974383641624576
– After announcing that he will not be competing at WrestleMania 32, John Cena continues to update fans on his recovery from shoulder surgery back in January.
Starting the week with 105th therapy visit, crossing the 350 hour mark. Doing all I can to get back to where I belong. @WWE #WrestleMania
— John Cena (@JohnCena) March 21, 2016
– Following the WWE debut of AJ Styles at Sunday night’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, NXT star Samoa Joe tweeted:
The pieces are now all in proximity & on the correct playing surface. I warned you it was all changing, buckle up and get ready #2016
— Samoa Joe (@SamoaJoe) January 25, 2016
– It appears that we could be seeing Cody Rhodes return to WWE television in the near future.
Stardust is coming to an end.
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) January 25, 2016
It looks like one of the more pleasantly surprising storylines from WWE in 2015 is going to be continuing. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson is reporting that this Saturday at the Heroes and Villains Fan Fest in Secacus, New Jersey, WWE has plans to send a crew to shoot video of a confrontation between Stardust and Arrow star Stephen Amell. It would seem as if there are now plans to do a singles match between them, and since it’s a celebrity match, you have to wonder if it’s earmarked for WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas.
Amell and Stardust had a brief feud last year culminating in a tag team match at SummerSlam, where Amell and Neville defeated Stardust and King Barrett. Amell showed pretty impressive athleticism in his appearances, even hitting a big dive off the top rope to the floor at SummerSlam, and generally got high marks from fans for his performances. However, he was clearly being protected by the tag match booking at SummerSlam and a singles match is a much taller order for a non-wrestler.
– It appears that a movie or documentary on late WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes is going to be released in 2017. Dusty’s son, Cody Rhodes (Stardust), took to social media on Friday to post the following teaser for the project, which he claims will be called, “The Last Cowboy.”
Official announcement & more details forthcoming…but here’s something to get excited for “The Last Cowboy” 2017 pic.twitter.com/yXmsVf5QU1
— Stardust (@StardustWWE) December 11, 2015
– Former WWE Divas Champion Layla and former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz were married earlier this month in Arizona. WWE has since acknowledged the marriage, as they wrote the following congratulatory message on their official website on Friday:
“After revealing their engagement this past summer, former WWE Divas Champion Layla and former WWE Superstar Ricky Ortiz (Richard Young) were married earlier this month. Join the rest of the WWE Universe in congratulating Layla and Ortiz on this exciting new chapter in their lives!”
Stardust sent out a few interesting tweets late Sunday night teasing the return of Cody Rhodes.
You guys want Cody back ? ?
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) November 2, 2015
After getting a bunch of responses, he teased that ‘a certain someone’ would have to defeat him in order for Cody to return:
HA
the ONLY way Stardust would ever go away…is if YOU KNOW WHO wrestled me…and WON#thesequel
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) November 2, 2015
Stardust is of course referring to actor Stephen Amell. After Amell and Neville defeated Stardust and King Barrett at SummerSlam, the Arrow star revealed that he was continuing to train in the ring just in case Stardust wanted another shot at him.
https://twitter.com/amellywood/status/636988182622420993
WWE taped the following matches on Monday night in Dallas, Texas, prior to the WWE Hell In A Cell “go-home” edition of WWE RAW for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars.
– Fandango def. Heath Slater in one-on-one action to kick off the evening in Dallas, Texas. The match was given only a few minutes and in the end, it was Fandango who managed to score the pinfall victory.
– Cody Rhodes def. Zack Ryder in the second of two matches taped for this week’s Superstars. During the match, the ring rew was covering the Susan G. Komen logo on the ramp and the stage, appearing to be setting up some special entrances or camera shots for RAW. In the match itself, Stardust ended up scoring the “W” after hitting Ryder with his finisher.
Cody Rhodes and his brother Dustin (Goldust) will be appearing at next month’s NXT Takeover: Respect event to present the championship trophy to the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. It will be Cody’s first WWE appearance (as himself) in nearly a year and a half. He told Triblive.com this week:
“It’s great though that you ask, because the Dusty Rhodes tag tournament taking place in NXT is something he would really be proud of because of all the platforms it gives to talent, including independent talent that came in for a shot to win the Dusty Rhodes tag tournament. I will actually be there myself, (as) me — for the first time a while on WWE programming — Cody Rhodes and my brother will be there to present the trophy, which I’m looking forward to seeing.”
The semi-finals and finals of the tournament will be held at Takeover: Respect on Wednesday, October 7th from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
Cody also spoke about his decision to not return as Cody Rhodes after the passing of his father, the late, great “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. He explains why he think it would have been tacky – and what Dusty told him about how he wanted to be remembered after he was gone.
“It would have been tacky — would have been tacky, and it wouldn’t have been genuine. Many years ago, I used to watch RAW with my dad, and we watched Nitro, and we watched the pay-per-views. Many years ago, there was a wrestler who passed away, and his name was used pretty regularly after that on programming. People were using it to try draw the adulation of fans. Everyone was saying, “Oh, well such and such who passed away would have loved this.” And (my father) told me, and this is something very few people know, “When I go don’t ever let anybody say that about me. I left my body of work on the table already and it doesn’t need to be expanded.” And I never forgot that. So there was never any question on who was coming back.”
https://youtu.be/4AgYsM8DWh4
Bret Hart took part in a Q&A session on Twitter and Periscope this week to discuss a bunch of topics, including Hulk Hogan’s racism controversy, CM Punk’s WWE departure, the Hart Foundation and more. Here are some highlights:
– Kevin Owens is one of his favorite wrestler, period. He’s a hard worker, a great heel and looks like a wrestler. Bret doesn’t agree with people who say he’s fat. He’s stocky and solid and resembles great big men like Bam Bam Bigelow.
– Bret loves CM Punk and says wrestling hasn’t been the same since he left. He was the best of the last generation and raised the bar for everyone. He was innovative, had a great sense of psychology and stood up for all the right things. Punk did what needed to be done and Bret has nothing but respect for him.
– Bret hopes Hulk Hogan never returns to WWE. Hogan should stay in Tampa in his little world of idol worship of himself. He feels bad for Hulk because he doesn’t remember him being a racist, but in his experience, a vast majority of white southern wrestlers “tend to be a little racial all of the time” and the n-word was used frequently whenever there wasn’t a black guy in the room. He’s glad Hulk got busted.
– Roddy Piper was the guy he kept in touch with the most from his wrestling days and it’s very sad he’s gone. He talks to Steve Austin, CM Punk, the Bella Twins and Natalya & Tyson Kidd. Most of his friends from his era are gone.
– Bret thinks Cody Rhodes is the best technical wrestler today. He also put over Goldust. He likes Seth Rollins a lot, but can’t forgive him for breaking John Cena’s nose and said you can’t call yourself a great wrestler when you’re making big mistakes like that.
– He thinks The Sharpshooter is the best finisher in wrestling history.
– Bret named Tyson Kidd as a very underrated wrestler.
– His best match ever was the Iron Man Match with Shawn Michaels at WresteMania 12 and thinks his match with Steve Austin the following year was a “work of art.”
– The Prime Time Players will be Chris Jericho’s guest this week on his Talk Is Jericho podcast over at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE officials are not happy with Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, according to f4wonline.com. Sunny has been selling “private Skype sessions with fans” and is dealing with a lot of legal issues at the moment.
– Stardust is asking fans on Twitter to vote on which persona they like bette – Stardust or Cody Rhodes, who mysteriously disappeared back in June 2014 and is rumored to be chained up in a remote cave somewhere off the coast of Parts Unknown.
VOTE citizens ??
rt for him. . .fav for me pic.twitter.com/UdtFyGEBmZ— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 1, 2015
Cody Rhodes has published an emotional letter to his late father, the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Cody tells the story of what inspired him to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a professional wrestler, his goal to capture the WWE Championship and deliver it to his parents, memories of being his father’s sidekick and what’s next for him as he continues on his own journey.
Check it out Cody’s letter to Dusty at BeingBrandiRunnels.com.
– While Stardust (Cody Rhodes) was back at television this week, WWE decided not to use him. The belief is that WWE isn’t ready to turn Stardust babyface, and due to the fact that he is Dusty Rhodes’ son and people probably won’t want to “boo” him, they are waiting to bring him back.
– At one point, a few of the NXT Divas, Charlotte being one we can confirm specifically, were scheduled for this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. This wasn’t the first time NXT Divas were set to make their main roster debuts only for plans to be changed. As noted recently, Charlotte and Sasha Banks are expected to be brought up to the main roster in time for SummerSlam, and they are likely to be involved in the Paige vs. Team Bella angle, siding with Paige.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Cody Rhodes, better known to modern-day WWE fans as “Stardust,” the son of the late WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, wrote the following eulogy for his father, which he made public via social media.
Below is the eulogy that Rhodes wrote on Wednesday evening.
https://twitter.com/StardustWWE/status/611332890568327168
Daniel Bryan recently spoke to App.com about the recent passing of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. Bryan said that Dusty always saw the good in people and did not look down on the current generation of superstars, like some legends tend to do.
“It happens a lot in wrestling and a lot of other things where the older generation looks down at the younger generation and picks him apart. Instead of that, he would say, “Ooh, look at this in this person.” As opposed to looking at their negatives, he was looking at their positives.
He wasn’t afraid to tell you what was wrong with something, but he was also quick to highlight the very good aspects of your nature or things about you that you should focus on. He touched a lot — a lot — of people.”
Bryan, who lost his own father last year, said Dusty’s son Cody shares his engaging personality.
“I have fond memories of Dusty, but I also have fond memories of being in the car withCody while he was talking to his dad. You could hear the way they would banter back and forth and you can see how that vibrancy that Dusty had was passed on to Cody,” Bryan said. “And I don’t know Dustin as well as I know Cody, but you can see it in Dustin too.”
According to Hollywood Life, Stephen Amell of “Arrow” fame will be competing in a match at this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
HollywoodLife.com is reporting that Amell will be going one-on-one with WWE Superstar Stardust (Cody Rhodes) at the event, which takes place on Sunday, August 23, 2015 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The story claims Amell and WWE are debating whether to refer to him as simply Stephen Amell, or if he should play his character from “Arrow” in the match.
– Stephanie McMahon is scheduled to be at NXT Takeover: “Unstoppable” tonight.
– Ahead of tonight’s NXT special, WWE has released new t-shirts for Hideo Itami, Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Becky Lynch, which says “Lass Licker.”
– Real-life WWE couple Stardust (Cody Rhodes) and ring announcer Eden recently bought a house together in Texas and noted that they plan to move into the home this week.
– On social media, WWE Diva Paige praised third generation wrestler Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard. Paige tweeted the following:
https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/600954592533344256
– WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair said during a Q&A held at “The Arnold” this past weekend in Ohio that he doesn’t know if John Cena will beat his record for the most reigns as World Heavyweight Champion, but he would be happy if he does because he feels Cena is a hard worker. One fan suggested that Flair wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania, to which Flair said he would love to do it, telling everyone that they should e-mail that idea to Vince McMahon.
– WWE Superstar Hornswoggle took a shot at Cody Rhodes on Twitter this week, which was said to come out of nowhere. He tweeted the following to the account that Rhodes uses separate from his official “Stardust” account.
Hey @PrinceCGR I'm sorry my daddy didn't give me my spot in the business. All the paint in the world won't cover up that growing forehead.
— Dylan Postl (@DylanPostl) March 11, 2015
(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels is the guest on the latest edition of Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show” podcast. The official description for the show reads as follows:
SASc – EP195 – WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels
“WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels talks to Steve about his new book, and his time in the ring. They cover WM 14 and what that was really like for Shawn given his injuries then, Shawn’s retirement from pro-wrestling, his in-ring work philosophy, hitting rock bottom with pills & coming out on the other side, best advice he got from Macho Man Randy Savage, what he learned from Ric Flair, and how shooting’s going for his reality TV show, MacMillan River Adventure.”
You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– The official WWE website has video footage of The Bella Twins at the 2015 ESPN Sports Science Newton Awards during Super Bowl weekend. You can check that out at WWE.com.
– Stardust’s (Cody Rhodes) wife, NXT Diva Eden, posted the following tweets regarding the promo on RAW:
It was only a matter of time…@StardustWWE #StarsAreGonnaShine #RAW
— Brandi Rhodes (@TheBrandiRhodes) February 17, 2015
For all of you anxious gentlemen callers…I am still a happily married woman. My husband is very much alive and as bright…as the stars ?
— Brandi Rhodes (@TheBrandiRhodes) February 17, 2015
– WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes is scheduled to be honored at the 2015 Cauliflower Alley Club banquet.
– Seth Rollins is featured on this week’s “RAW Slam of the Week” video, which you can view below.
– This week’s “SmackDown Slam of the Week,” which you can watch below, features WWE Tag-Team Champions Goldust and Stardust.
Once an occasional treat for the WWE Universe, the Hell in a Cell match has become a yearly event since the introduction of the eponymous pay-per-view in 2009. Since its inception, the company has yet to truly knock it out of the park with Hell in a Cell, although fans have witnessed some memorable moments.
This year, it will be either John Cena or Dean Ambrose headlining the event against Seth Rollins inside the most ominous structure in sports entertainment. As the company builds up its next pay-per-view, here is a look back at the first five Hell in a Cell events.
5. 2012
This event really didn’t have a pay-per-view feel to it. The undercard was primarily filled with forgettable matches that had little impact on future storylines. The main event was also lacking due to injury.
It was clear that the company had no idea what to do after John Cena went down to injury, leading to Ryback receiving a premature main event push. From top to bottom, this event was lacking and easily locks up the honor of being the worst Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to date.
Main Event: CM Punk vs. Ryback (Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship)
Best Match: Big Show vs. Sheamus
Worst Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. The Prime Time Players