Cody Rhodes is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE and performs on the SmackDown brand. As of 2025, he is the current Undisputed WWE Champion in his second reign and also holds the titles of King of the Ring and WWE Crown Jewel Champion. Before returning to WWE, he co-founded All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2019 and worked there as both a wrestler and an executive vice president until 2022.
Cody was a two-time Georgia state high school wrestling champion in 2003 and 2004. He joined WWE in 2006 and wrestled in its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he won the Television, Southern Tag Team (with Shawn Spears), and Heavyweight Championships, becoming an OVW Triple Crown Champion.
Cody Rhodes Parents: Who Are They?
Cody Rhodes’s parents are Dusty Rhodes, a famous professional wrestler, and Michelle Rubio. He was born on June 30, 1985, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has Cuban roots through his maternal grandfather. Cody has one sister named Teil, a half-brother Dustin (also a wrestler known as Goldust), and a half-sister Kristin, who was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. His uncles are wrestlers Jerry Sags and Fred Ottman, and his godfather is Magnum T. A., who was present at Cody’s birth and baptism. As a teenager, he legally changed his surname to “Runnels Rhodes.”
Cody Rhodes Father – Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes, also known as Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. in 1945 in Austin, Texas. He was a legendary professional wrestler known as “The American Dream.” Before wrestling, he played baseball and football. He began his wrestling career in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Jim Crockett Promotions, which later became WCW, during the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1980s, Dusty joined the WWE and very quickly became very famous for his charisma and powerful microphone skills.
Dusty never won the WWE Championship. His most famous match was against Superstar Billy Graham at Madison Square Garden, where he won by count-out but didn’t win the title.
Dusty married twice and had four children: Teil, Kristin, Dustin (known as Goldust), and Cody Rhodes (The American Nightmare). After retiring from wrestling in 1995, he joined WWE’s creative team in 2005 and later worked as a trainer and mentor in NXT. He made stars like Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn.
Dusty Rhodes was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and died in 2015 at age 69 due to kidney failure. His legacy lives on through his sons, especially Cody Rhodes, who carries forward his father’s dream in WWE.
Cody Rhodes Mother – Michelle Rubio Rhodes
Michelle Rubio, born on October 6, 1962, in El Paso, Texas, is the mother of Cody Rhodes. She was a dancer in the group The Devil’s Angels and performed in various nightclubs before meeting Dusty while working as a gym receptionist. They married in 1978. Michelle has been a widow since Dusty’s death in 2015. She has three children: Cody Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, and a daughter, Teil Runnels.
Does Cody Rhodes have any siblings?
Cody Rhodes’s brother is Dustin Rhodes, a veteran professional wrestler best known for his WWE persona “Goldust.” Dustin has worked for both WWE and WCW. He performed as Goldust in WWE for more than 20 years, during the Attitude Era. He later joined AEW in 2019, where he had a critically acclaimed match against Cody Rhodes at the first Double or Nothing event.
Cody has publicly stated that he wants his brother to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for his impact and legacy in professional wrestling. Their father, Dusty Rhodes, was inducted in 2007, and Cody hopes Dustin will join him there one day.
Cody Rhodes also has two sisters. Kristin Runnels Ditto, born on February 14, 1973, is his older half-sister from Dusty Rhodes’s first marriage to Sandra McHargue. Kristin was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and later became a successful entrepreneur, running real estate ventures and serving as a brand ambassador. She lives with her husband, Don Ditto, and their three sons.
Teil Margaret Runnels Gergel, born on September 12, 1982, is Cody’s full sister, the daughter of Dusty Rhodes and Michelle Rubio. Teil briefly pursued a wrestling career in AEW but later focused on family life. She is married to Kevin Gergel and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she raises their two children.
FAQs
Q. Who won the championship match of John Cena and Cody Rhodes?
A. On August 4, 2025, Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena at SummerSlam to become the new WWE Champion.
Q. What makes Cody Rhodes known as “The American Nightmare”?
A. Cody Rhodes was a member of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he earned the moniker “The American Nightmare.” He was given the name by the group in reference to his father, Dusty Rhodes’ moniker, “The American Dream.”
Q. Does Cody Rhodes’s wrestling school allow LGBTQ wrestlers?
A. Cody Rhodes supports LGBTQ people, and his training school, The Nightmare Academy, has welcomed several LGBTQ wrestlers.
Q. Who is Cody Rhodes’ real mother?
A. Cody Rhodes’ mother is Michelle Rubio. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 30, 1985.
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