While Cody Rhodes has wrestled for dozens of different promotions over his professional wrestling career, working matches all over the world between 2016-2022 when he was on his tour through the indies, in the end, the “American Nightmare” always felt like a WWE guy.

He carried himself like a WWE Superstar whether he was working for a small fed in a high school gym or walking into the NOW Arena in Chicago in front of 10,000 fans at All In, and even after helping to form AEW, his storylines all had a very specific, dare I say sports entertainment-y spin to them, which led some to suggest he should turn heel because his red, white, and blue babyface schtick wasn't going over like he intended.

Fortunately, now that Rhodes is back in WWE, he can fully embrace what he always wanted to be, as he noted in a conversation with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick in an interview on After The Bell.

“The things that I appreciate for WWE is we’re almost like tailor-made for each other in the sense that I am a control freak,” Cody Rhodes said via 411 Mania. “I really wanna have a say in what my merch will look like. I also want to see how well that’s doing in every single market, not just a general conversation every week, every single market, not unlike I watched Cena do.”

Excluding the reference to John Cena, a person Rhodes has been talking about a lot as of late, it's nice to know that the “American Nightmare” enjoys his spot in the world of sports entertainment, as, despite giving up some power in his jump from AEW to WWE, he has been able to show his schtick off in front of a receptive audience and has been reaping the benefits of that success as a result.

Cody Rhodes reveals how wearing suits grew into much more than just a gimmick.

Speaking of Cody Rhodes carrying himself like a WWE Superstar, namely his pension for wearing suits while wrestling matches in venues small and large, the ‘American Nightmare” revealed that some at first didn't understand his gimmick or even suggested he should ditch it.

Rhodes, however, decided to stick to his guns, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I had someone once tell me, and this was very dumb, this person, they’re not dumb who told me, but the statement was dumb that I shouldn’t wear suits. It intimidates people. So I thought, okay, well, maybe I’ll get sweats and, like, a black sleeveless hoodie. I like sleeveless hoodies. I got a good biceps, so that’ll work for me,” Rhodes said via Fightful.

“I’ve always had different outlooks on, you know, the classic quote of dress for the job you want, not the job you have. But I think in the beginning, admittedly the beginning, because I started wearing suits everywhere, every day when I left WWE in 2015, and when I went on the independent scene, and I’d be wearing a suit, and that, on an independent level, was very different, and a lot of people hadn’t seen that. And it was a gimmick. I think, if I can use that word, it was a gimmick.”

While Rhodes' outfit decisions may have initially begun as a gimmick, when he landed in New Japan, AEW, and eventually WWE, he decided to keep it going, as he wanted to embrace that Kazuchika Okada style and bring an NBA Draft-level of professionalism to professional wrestling.

“Somewhere around that period, though, it was fully in my bones, it was no longer a gimmick. I loved it. I loved the culture of fashion at a wrestling event, and it may be my visits to New Japan, where you see Okada showing up to the building in a Ferrari, immaculate suit, immaculately tailored suit. I really appreciated how, as sports figures, I know it’s sports entertainment, but as sports figures, they weren’t trying to be slouchers. They were trying to be on an NBA level of fashion, an NBA and NFL draft level. And I’ve just always loved that it’s no longer a gimmick. That’s all that’s in the closet.”

Will some fans continue to rag on Rhodes for taking himself too seriously? Yes, Cody is about as extra as a WWE Superstar comes, and he never met drama that he didn't want to make into melodrama, but in the end, he's found a promotion that embraces his style instead of hoping he changes it and he's reaping the benefits of nearly a decade of work as a result.