Cody Rhodes has come a long way since starting off his career with WWE. After spending a year in Ohio Valley Wrestling, he made his WWE debut in 2007. His career started off well enough, and it looked like Rhodes may end up being a big star for the promotion.

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But somewhere along the line, things went very wrong. Once Rhodes left the promotion, he established himself as one of the biggest stars in the world. As the EVP of AEW, he has proven himself to be a great booker and businessperson as well.

Rhodes has played a lot of gimmicks over the years, some have been great, others not so much. Here's every Cody Rhodes gimmick, ranked from worst to best.

9 Rookie

Cody Rhodes made his TV debut on the July 2, 2007 episode of Raw. He soon entered a brief feud with Randy Orton, who had disrespected his father. Soon after, Rhodes started feuding with Daivari and the team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.

After a short feud with Hardcore Holly, the two teamed up and won the World Tag Team Championships. Ted DiBiase soon started feuding with the duo, before Rhodes turned heel and joined DiBiase, which led to two more reigns with the World Tag Team Championship. During this time, the team of Rhodes and DiBiase was known as Priceless. While he did win some gold during this run, Rhodes' character was rather nondescript and failed to build on him being more than the son of the great Dusty Rhodes.

8 Stardust

When Cody Rhodes first started teaming with Goldust, it was fantastic. They drew the ire of The Authority and had a great feud with The Shield. They even won the tag-team championships together, but everything went wrong once they dropped the gold to The New Age Outlaws.

After a brief losing streak, Rhodes debuted his new character, Stardust. Stardust wore a bodysuit and face point just like Goldust, and had similar mannerisms. It was a waste of Rhodes' skills and sent him spiraling down the card and eventually led to him leaving WWE.

7 Member Of The Legacy

Soon after teaming up with Ted DiBiase, Randy Orton took them under his wing. Together, they formed a faction called 'The Legacy'. DiBiase and Rhodes acted as Orton's henchmen to pit the odds in his favor, while continuing to develop as singles stars themselves.

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They had a few great matches before teasing tension at the Royal Rumble in 2010. All of that tension resulted in a triple-threat match at WrestleMania 26, which Orton won. The match marked the end of The Legacy. Rhodes was drafted to SmackDown, where he would embark on a proper run as a singles star.

6 Team Rhodes Scholars

Team Rhodes Scholars

Once Rhodes moved out of the Intercontinental Championship scene, he aligned himself with Damien Sandow. Together, they vowed to win the tag-team championships. Known as Team Rhodes Scholars, they took on Team Hell No for the gold on multiple occasions, but failed to win the championship.

Soon after, Sandow screwed over Cody to win the Money in the Bank briefcase. This sparked a feud between both men, with Cody picking up multiple wins over Sandow and hence, ending their feud. Team Rhodes Scholars had potential, but their repeated failure to win the tag-team championships was ultimately a let-down.

5 Bullet Club Cody

In December, 2016, Rhodes appeared in the final of NJPW's World Tag League via video package and announced that he was going to be the newest member of the Bullet Club. He made his in-ring debut in January, 2017 in a successful outing against Juice Robinson.

Soon after, he challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful. He then teamed up with Hangman Page, but failed to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship as well. Cody failed to win the Heavyweight Championship on a few more occasions, but he did have a brief run as the IWGP United States Champion. In October, 2018, Cody stated that he was no longer a part of the Bullet Club, but he continued teaming with Omega, the Young Bucks, Page and Marty Scurll as The Elite. While he did have a good run there, Cody consistently failed to win the big one in Japan.

4 "Dashing" Cody Rhodes

Soon after being drafted to SmackDown, Cody Rhodes took on an extremely narcissistic gimmick. Now known as "Dashing" Cody Rhodes, he claimed to be the best looking star in the promotion and aired multiple vignettes featuring grooming tips for viewers.

He became extremely protective of his face, often checking on himself using a mirror. Rhodes also teamed up with Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Tag Team Championships. That team-up didn't last long though, with them going their separate ways soon after. In a match against Rey Mysterio in January 2011, Rhodes legitimately broke his nose, bringing an end to the "Dashing" gimmick.

3 "Shattered" Cody Rhodes

Once Rhodes returned to programming after breaking his nose, he was seen sporting a clear protective mask for his face. He briefly feuded with Rey Mysterio and was seen handing out paper bags to audience members to hide their imperfections. Rhodes would often put the bags on his opponents as well, after beating them in the ring.

He won the Intercontinental Championship and had a great run, debuting a new design for the strap as well, before entering a feud with Randy Orton. Orton broke his mask towards the end of their feud, marking an end to the "Shattered" Cody Rhodes gimmick. Rhodes himself loved the gimmick, calling it his second-most successful role.

2 EVP Cody

Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is not only AEW's Executive Vice President, he is one of the promotion's biggest faces. He has put on some fantastic matches and cut great promos over the course of his run with the promotion.

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During his reign as TNT Champion, Cody committed to being a fighting champion and giving new talent an opportunity to shine. Along with the rest of The Elite, and Tony Khan, Rhodes has been able to create a viable alternative to WWE programming for fans. Cody has been fantastic as an in-ring performer and a backstage administrator.

1 The American Nightmare

When Cody Rhodes announced that he would be joining NJPW as a member of the Bullet Club, he called himself "The American Nightmare". While his association with the faction was not the most successful, he had great runs elsewhere.

Rhodes had a strong run on the independent circuit, defeating Nick Aldis to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He also had a great run in Ring of Honor, winning the ROH World Championship and then later the ROH World Six-Man Tag-Team Championship. He also had a strong run with Impact Wrestling. While he may still be The American Nightmare, he is the EVP of AEW first, making this his most successful gimmick.

NEXT: Kane: Ranking All Of His Gimmicks, From Worst To Best