Longtime fans of WWE star Cody Rhodes will know that the wrestler has gone through several name changes over the course of his career. In the end, he’d wind up regaining control of the name passed onto him by his late father, Dusty Rhodes, though the journey wasn’t always easy. Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Because WWE owned the rights to the name Cody Rhodes, when Runnels returned to the independent scene, he chose to simply brand himself as Cody. Thankfully, someone on his team came up with a work-around.

Rhodes’ wife, Brandi, was a ring announcer for WWE but was granted her release around the same time as her husband. Because she did not perform in WWE as Brandi Rhodes, she was free to trademark the name herself. Thus began the wrestling partnership of Cody and Brandi Rhodes.

For years following his WWE departure, uncertain speculation floated around as to whether Cody would ever regain his last name. Though it seemed doubtful that WWE would ever give up the trademark after Cody helped create AEW, it happened in 2020. Rhodes was able to reclaim and trademark his name, allowing him to bill himself as Cody Rhodes in the newly-founded promotion.

Perhaps taking note of this act of goodwill, Rhodes later left AEW and returned to WWE in 2022. He’s since become one of the company’s biggest stars and the first member of the Rhodes family to win a world championship in WWE.