Cody Rhodes made his shocking return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 years after requesting his release from the company. Rhodes couldn't find his way in WWE during his first run after multiple failed gimmicks. From an up-and-coming member of Legacy, to Dashing, to Stardust, Rhodes couldn't break through into the main event scene.

After years of failing to get these gimmicks over, Rhodes decided it was time to leave WWE to write his own story. After leaving the company, Rhodes competed in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, TNA/Impact Wrestling, and, of course, All Elite Wrestling.

To say Cody Rhodes made a name for himself on the independent scene is a massive understatement. He found success in nearly every promotion he was a part of during this time. Rhodes held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, ROH World and Six-Man Tag Team Championship, and AEW TNT Championship three times.

Along the way, Rhodes became a member of the Bullet Club, planned an independent wrestling show called All In with The Young Bucks, which sold out within 30 minutes, and became one of the founders of AEW. The American Nightmare came alive during his time away from WWE. These were some of the best decisions he ever made to revitalize his career.

It's crazy that none of this would have happened if Cody Rhodes didn't take a chance on himself. Rhodes was frustrated with his direction within the company, and even his father advised him to leave. In a 2016 interview with Wrestledelphia Radio, Rhodes revealed that Dusty Rhodes told him to leave WWE after WrestleMania 28.

“At 28, I recalled particularly, he was unhappy with the direction things were going with me and Big Show, and he just thought that I was so close to the keys to the kingdom, and they were slipping away, that maybe leaving would wake them to the idea that this is somebody who wanted to captain your ship and the way you guys are treating him has pushed him out,” Rhodes said, via Fightful.

Cody Rhodes didn't want to take his father's advice, thinking it came from his heart and not as a businessman. He wanted to stick it out and try to make things work, which ultimately didn't happen.

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Rhodes revealed what ultimately drove him to leave WWE. He says an interaction with a young fan was a “rock bottom moment” that led to his decision to request his release from the company.

“There was a lot of rock bottom [playing Stardust],” Rhodes said. “Charlotte Flair brought a fan to a show. She told him, ‘Hey, do you wanna meet Stardust?’ and I was just not painted up or anything there earlier in the day in like my sweats. And he came up to me, he’s like, ‘You’re Stardust?’ … I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, and I used to wrestle as Cody Rhodes.’ And he was like, ‘What? Who? What do you mean?’ He had no idea that I’d won the Intercontinental title or won some tag titles or Legacy. Nothing. Stardust was his only knowledge of me, and that was a rock bottom moment.”

If Rhodes didn't have this interaction, maybe he wouldn't have ever left WWE. The American Nightmare and possibly AEW would have never been born. Cody Rhodes took a massive chance on himself, and it paid off. Now, Rhodes is back in WWE as one of the faces of the company.

Since returning, he has had three incredible matches against Seth Rollins, where he won all three. Despite tearing his pectoral muscle, he put on a five-star Hell in a Cell match with Rollins. He returned seven months later to win the Royal Rumble, challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania. Although he lost to Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania, the future is still unbelievably bright for Rhodes.

Cody Rhodes returned to WWE to “finish his story.” Although he couldn't finish it at WrestleMania, there's a good chance he will one day soon. It was only the end of the chapter for Rhodes, not the story.

The American Nightmare is in a much better place in WWE now than seven years ago, and it will be fun to see where he goes from here after WrestleMania.

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