Arn Anderson Says Cody Did the Best He Could With Stardust, Discusses Why the Gimmick Went Nowhere

– During a recent episode of The Arn Show, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson shared his thoughts on Cody Rhodes using the Stardust gimmick in WWE while recapping the WWE Payback 2015 event. On that card, Cody as Stardust faced R-Truth in a throwaway match on the Kickoff show. Below are some highlights and a clip from the show:

Arn Anderson on Stardust: “Well, I didn’t dislike it from the fact that the costuming and Cody looked good in that character. I know that every time I dealt with Cody from time I dealt with Cody from day one, he would give you the best he could. I knew that there were or there should be some good things happening for him in the business because his attitude was good, his ability was good, straight away, and they put this character on him. I didn’t know how strongly he was against it until later. But I thought he did a good job with it, and he looked good in the costume and the whole deal. But there was no plan past that to take Cody Rhodes, who everyone knew was the son of Dusty Rhodes, and take that character. And it doesn’t have to do anything with Goldust or anything to do with The American Dream, but somehow elevate that character. But when they change you and change your characters and you just stay at a level push, you don’t go anywhere with that. Then what was the reason to change ya if there were no positive plans, you know, to elevate you and that was what I couldn’t figure out.”

Anderson on Stardust vs. R-Truth at Payback 2015: “I know there was probably on this match, no build, no story, no nothing. Probably, right? So, you know what you do, you go out when you have no story and you have no build and you’re a new character, some people know who you are, and some know who you’re not underneath that paint, you just go out and have a first-match match. I would expect the reaction would’ve been minimal probably for that.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit The Arn Show, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.