During his appearance in the 2008 Royal Rumble Match, Cody made his rumble debut and, during the match, started attacking the Undertaker from behind. Now the nature of the match means not much can be planned other than who's in and who's out by a certain point, meaning everything is on the fly. For Cody, a new guy, showing offense on The Undertaker seems audacious. What does Taker say to him? "Do a Dropkick.", and Cody, as he explained it, was as giddy as a school yard child because the top guy is telling you to look strong at his expense meant the world to him.
Him and Goldust winning at Battleground earning their jobs back. The scene after the match was so wonderfully heartwarming with the Rhodes family hugging each other, and then the rest of the face locker room and backstage personnel coming out and congratulating them. Coupled with blink-and-you-miss-it shots of wrestlers from Dusty's time, like Arn Anderson, Mike "IRS" Rotunda (who now has twosons in WWE himself) and Dean Malenko.
Especially if you remember Goldust and Cody were estranged for years, only reconnecting when Cody was nearly grown, and Goldust helped Cody decide to become a wrestler.
How about them winning the Tag Team Championship belts off of the Shield shortly afterwards?
Depends on how long it lasts but after leaving Goldust to fend for himself (sort of) for a while, he returns as a character called 'Stardust'. They go on to have a very quick but notable victory against Ryback and Axel.
It's also a heartwarming nod to his father "The American Dream", who innovated the "Stardust" character, at the beginning of his legendary career, down in Florida.
When Stardust had a match against Stephen Amell, they released a t-shirt and Stardust donated his share of the proceeds to Emily's House. He and Stephen Amell even went to Emily's House personally to give the check.
Cody's friendship with Amell stayed strong even when the former was gone from WWE, and he even got signed to appear as a villain in the fifth season of Arrow.
"I just want all of you to know I'd like to make Whatculture Pro Wrestling my home in the United Kingdom. You guys have thanked me, you've thanked everybody on the show - now it's my opportunity to thank you. Thank you very much."
His new nickname of "The American Nightmare", while very much badass, has two major familial ties. The moniker pays tribute to both Dusty (well known as "The American Dream") and Dustin (who actually went by said name before becoming Goldust in the early 1990s).
Cody Rhodes winning the NWA World Championship at "All In" is more meaningful when you remember Dusty Rhodes won that title as well in his prime. Just seeing Cody win the same title his father won (making them the first father-son duo to hold one of the oldest wrestling championships in the world), at the very PPV he and his friends worked so hard and risked so much to make a success, showed that the huge risk Cody took by leaving WWE had paid off in spades. Cody was shedding tearsof joy at his accomplishment.
At the end of the brutal match between Cody and brother Dustin at AEW's Double or Nothing PPV, Cody calls for a mic and tells his blood-soaked brother, collapsed in the corner, that this won't be his retirement match. See, Cody is booked at the next AEW PPV for a tag team match against The Young Bucks, together with a partner of his choice.
Cody: But Dustin... I don't need- I don't need a partner. I don't need... I don't need a friend. I needmy older brother! (cue a heartfelt hug)
As of January 1 2020, Cody now has a manager and head coach: Arn Anderson. Y'know, the guy who used to be part of a group who went to war and nearly broke the leg of Cody's father back at the NWA? There's something special seeing the aging veteran stand by the son of his former bitter rival.
After losing the TNT Championship to his rival Darby Allin at Full Gear 2020, Cody briefly teased the possibility that he was going to turn heel on Darby when he angrily snatched the championship belt he'd just lost from the referee's hands... only to kneel respectfully in front of his victorious opponent and offer it to him personally. Darby looked like he was starting to tear up as he took the belt from Cody and Cody raised his fist in victory.
Cody explained once in an interview that during the Monday Night Wars he was expressly forbidden by Dusty from watching WWF because Dusty was working for WCW. Cody however admitted that he secretly watched WWF programming because he wanted to watch his brother (i.e. Goldust) wrestle. As an added Tear Jerker, Cody explained that his father and brother weren’t on speaking terms at the time, so watching his brother on TV was the only time Cody could see him.
On an "Inside the Ropes" interview, Cody explains that he credits Rey Mysterio Jr. in helping kick start his career because it was Rey who insisted on having a match with him at Wrestlemania 27. Not only that, Rey trusted Cody enough for him to make the plans on how the feud will go down, barging into Vince's office and having everything set. Rey basically gave Cody a chance to prove himself in the industry and it paid off.
Before the start of Hell in a Cell 2022, reports came out that Cody a nasty injury during his workout, a torn pectoral. Does his Hell in a Cell Match with Seth Rollins get scrapped? Nope, Cody went ahead with the match, despite most even agreeing it shouldn't, especially after seeing how bruised up Cody really was. Not only did he compete, but he won the match, powering through the obvious pain he had to be going through, truly making it his true career-defining moment in WWE.
After winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40, Cody is celebrating with the previous babyface challengers to Roman Reigns and turns around.... immediately hugging his mother. To cap it off, he gets on his knees and presents the title belt to her.
Tears of Joy can be seen on announcer Samantha Irvin's face as she's just barely able to declare Cody's win after the bell rang. That is how momentous this moment was for not just Cody Rhodes himself, but the entire WWE universe, symbolizing the birth of a new era.
as he reminisces about his late father before finishing with this."I just want all of you to know I'd like to make Whatculture Pro Wrestling my home in the United Kingdom. You guys have thanked me, you've thanked everybody on the show - now it's my opportunity to thank you. Thank you very much."