On March 31, 2007, Cody made his first appearance in WWE, along with his brother Dustin, when they inducted their father, Dusty Rhodes, into the WWE Hall of Fame.
On the July 2, 2007 episode of Raw, Rhodes made his television debut in a backstage segment with his father Dusty Rhodes and Randy Orton, where Orton introduced himself to Rhodes and then slapped Dusty as a sign of disrespect. On July 9, Rhodes slapped Orton in return, and the following week, Rhodes was defeated by Orton in his debut WWE match. Rhodes appeared at The Great American Bash to prevent Orton from further attacking his father. The next night on Raw, Rhodes challenged Orton to a rematch from the previous week, only to lose again. Orton followed this up by kicking Rhodes' father in the head. Rhodes' next storyline was a rivalry with Daivari, after he pinned him on the July 30 Raw, to keep his job. In the midst of this rivalry, he also feuded with The World's Greatest Tag Team, defeating both members, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin in singles matches. The two feuds combined, when Rhodes, along with Paul London and Brian Kendrick, beat The World's Greatest Tag Team and Daivari in a six-man tag team match. The following week, Rhodes teamed up with Mickie James to defeat Daivari and Jillian Hall, ending their scripted rivalry.
Three weeks later, he began a feud with Hardcore Holly and lost three consecutive matches to him. Rhodes eventually earned Holly's respect, impressing Holly during their matches with his persistence and several near-falls, and the two formed a tag team. They earned a shot at the World Tag Team Title by defeating Paul London and Brian Kendrick and The Highlanders. They fought against the Tag Team Champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch at Survivor Series, in what was Rhodes' first on-screen title shot and pay-per-view match, but were unsuccessful. On the November 19 Raw, Rhodes faced Holly for a fourth time and beat him, although they were both attacked by Randy Orton afterwards. On the Raw 15th Anniversary special episode that aired on December 10, 2007, Rhodes, along with Holly, defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship, marking Rhodes' first championship in WWE. In May 2008, Ted DiBiase began feuding with the duo, threatening to take their titles in his first match as part of the Raw brand. At the pay-per-view event, Night of Champions on June 29, Rhodes turned on Holly by revealing himself as Ted DiBiase's partner to help DiBiase win the match and also become a two-time World Tag Team Champion.
After holding the championship for just over a month, they dropped it to John Cena and Batista on the August 4, 2008 episode of Raw. The following week on Raw, DiBiase and Rhodes used their rematch clause to regain the championship. Rhodes and DiBiase were joined by Manu in September, forming a stable of multi-generational wrestlers. On the October 27 Raw, Rhodes and DiBiase lost the World Tag Team Championship to Kofi Kingston and CM Punk.
On the November 3, 2008 episode of Raw, Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu entered a storyline with Orton, who constantly criticized and insulted them and attacked DiBiase. At Survivor Series, Rhodes, along with Orton, was a survivor, for Orton's team, in the annual Elimination match. Rhodes and Manu accepted Orton's offer for an alliance in the following weeks and the trio dubbed themselves The Legacy, debuting in a two-on-three handicap match against Batista and Triple H. Orton began scheduling tests for The Legacy members, so they could prove themselves and over two weeks, both Manu and Sim Snuka were kicked out.
On the January 12, 2009, Raw, Snuka and Manu gave Rhodes the chance to align with them to attack Orton, along with the returning DiBiase, but Rhodes refused. As they ambushed Orton, DiBiase instead joined with Orton and Rhodes to attack Snuka and Manu and became a member of the Legacy. As part of the Legacy, Rhodes entered the Royal Rumble match in order to help Orton win, and lasted until the final three, before being eliminated by Triple H. Rhodes and DiBiase became involved in Orton's scripted rivalry with the McMahon family, helping him to attack Shane and Stephanie McMahon, and Stephanie's husband, Triple H. Rhodes was elevated to main event status as a result of joining the Legacy, competing in handicap and six-man tag team matches against Orton's opponents and rivals.
On April 26 at Backlash, Rhodes, DiBiase, and Orton defeated Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon in a six-man tag team match, which, per the pre-match stipulation, resulted in Orton winning the WWE Championship. Rhodes suffered a minor neck injury in June, but continued working. Throughout mid-2009, Rhodes and DiBiase continued to compete against and attack Orton's rivals, especially Triple H. This led to Triple H reforming D-Generation X with Shawn Michaels, and DX defeated Rhodes and DiBiase at SummerSlam. Rhodes and DiBiase defeated DX at the following pay-per-view, Breaking Point, in a submissions count anywhere match, but were defeated in a Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in October, when Rhodes was pinned following a sledgehammer shot to the head.
Tension within The Legacy became apparent at the 2010 Royal Rumble, when Rhodes attempted to interfere in Orton's match for the WWE Championship. Rhodes was caught by the referee, resulting in a disqualification for Orton, who attacked Rhodes and DiBiase, who had tried to help Rhodes, after the match. On the February 15 Raw, Orton took on Sheamus in a non-title rematch, but was again disqualified after Rhodes and DiBiase interfered. During the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the eponymous pay-per-view, Rhodes interfered, passing a lead pipe through the cage to DiBiase. DiBiase hit Orton with the pipe and eliminated him from the match. The next night on Raw, Orton attacked Rhodes and DiBiase during a six-man tag team match, and they attacked Orton the following week in retaliation. This led to a triple threat match at WrestleMania XXVI, in which Orton defeated Rhodes and DiBiase.
As part of the 2010 WWE supplemental draft, Rhodes was drafted to the SmackDown brand. He made his debut for the brand on the April 30 SmackDown, by defeating John Morrison. The following week on SmackDown, Rhodes participated in a tournament for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship, but lost to Christian in the semi-finals. Rhodes mentored Husky Harris, a third-generation wrestler, in the second season of NXT.
On the June 25 SmackDown, Rhodes began a new narcissistic gimmick, claiming to be the best-looking wrestler in WWE and demanding to be called "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. As part of the gimmick, vignettes began airing in which Rhodes gave "grooming tips". He was extremely protective of his face during matches; if he was hit in the face, he threw a fit and checked his mirror. In September, he attacked Christian along with Drew McIntyre after a match, and the duo also attacked Matt Hardy, forming an alliance. At Night of Champions in September, Rhodes and McIntyre captured the WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tag Team Turmoil match. At Bragging Rights, Rhodes and McIntyre lost the championship to The Nexus (John Cena and David Otunga). On the October 29 SmackDown, after losing a tag team match, Rhodes and McIntyre dissolved their partnership.
On January 21, 2011, Rhodes faced Rey Mysterio in a match, during which Mysterio hit Rhodes in the face with his exposed knee brace and legitimately broke Rhodes' nose, which led to Rhodes declaring he was no longer dashing and had required facial reconstructive surgery. Rhodes was off television for several weeks. Upon his return, he wore a clear protective mask over his face and colluded with his father to attack Mysterio and remove Mysterio's mask on the February 25 SmackDown. Rhodes then regularly used his protective mask as a weapon during matches by headbutting opponents and using it to hit his opponents. Rhodes defeated Mysterio in a match at WrestleMania XXVII on April 3. The duo also faced off in a Falls Count Anywhere match at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view in May, which was won by Mysterio.
On subsequent episodes of SmackDown following WrestleMania XXVII, Rhodes, with the help of assistants, would hand out paper bags to the audience during his promos. Rhodes demanded the audience to put on the paper bags on their heads to cover their ugliness and imperfections, because they offended him. Rhodes also put paper bags over several of his opponents' heads after matches with them. Rhodes reformed his alliance with Ted DiBiase on the May 20 SmackDown, and the duo went on to feud with Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan. At the second annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Rhodes participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match, but was unsuccessful as Bryan won the match.
At the August 9 tapings of the August 12 SmackDown, Rhodes defeated Ezekiel Jackson to win the Intercontinental Championship, his first singles title with the company. The following week, Rhodes and DiBiase had a verbal confrontation with Randy Orton. The following week, Rhodes attacked DiBiase after the latter lost a singles match to Orton, ending their alliance and resulting in an Intercontinental Championship match between the two at Night of Champions, which Rhodes won. Simultaneously, Rhodes had begun a feud with Orton, with Orton defeating Rhodes on the September 9 SmackDown, but Rhodes defeated Orton on the September 12 Raw when Mark Henry distracted Orton. On the September 23 SmackDown, Rhodes defeated Orton by disqualification when Orton took Rhodes' mask off and hit him with it. Post-match, Orton attacked Rhodes with the timekeeper's bell, legitimately cutting Rhodes and causing bleeding. The following week on SmackDown, Rhodes claimed he needed nine staples to close the wound.
At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 2, Rhodes debuted a new design for the Intercontinental Championship, which included a white strap and plates similar to the title's classic 1980's design, before successfully defending it against John Morrison. Throughout October, Rhodes continued feuding with Orton, explaining that Orton had mistreated him during their time together as part of Legacy, costing him the World Heavyweight Championship and attacking him. At Vengeance, Rhodes was defeated by Orton in a non-title match. On the November 4 SmackDown, Orton defeated Rhodes in a Street Fight to end the feud; in the process, Orton broke Rhodes' mask. On the November 14 Raw, Rhodes reappeared without his mask, claiming that Orton had set him free, signalling the end of his masked gimmick.
Rhodes then feuded with SmackDown commentator Booker T, attacking him from behind on several occasions and successfully retaining the Intercontinental Championship against him at Tables, Ladders & Chairs and on the January 6, 2012 SmackDown. In the 2012 Royal Rumble match, Rhodes lasted over 40 minutes and eliminated more wrestlers than other any other competitor with six, before he was eliminated by The Big Show. At Elimination Chamber, Rhodes pinned Show in the World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber match, before being eliminated by Santino Marella. Rhodes spent the following weeks highlighting Show's embarrassing moments in previous WrestleManias, often costing Show to lose matches in the process. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Rhodes lost the Intercontinental Championship to Big Show, ending his near eight-month reign of 236 days.
Following the loss at WrestleMania, Rhodes went on a brief losing streak, due to Show distracting him during matches. Four weeks after losing the title, Rhodes regained it at Extreme Rules in a tables match. On the May 7 episode of Raw SuperShow, Rhodes retained his title against Show in a rematch after getting himself counted out. Two weeks later at Over the Limit, Rhodes lost the Intercontinental Championship to the returning Christian. On the June 29 SmackDown, Rhodes and David Otunga were defeated by Christian and United States Champion Santino Marella in a Money in the Bank qualification match for the World Heavyweight Championship, due to Otunga being pinned. Afterwards, Rhodes claimed that he had not lost and demanded another chance. Four days later on Super SmackDown Live, the WWE Board of Directors granted Rhodes another shot and he defeated Christian to earn a spot in the match. However, at Money in the Bank, he was unsuccessful as the match was won by Dolph Ziggler. On September 16 at Night of Champions, Rhodes failed to capture the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz in a fatal-four-way match, also involving Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara.
Rhodes then aligned himself with Damien Sandow, attacking WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) on the September 24 Raw and vowing to become the next champions. The team, now known as Team Rhodes Scholars, were entered in a WWE Tag Team Championship tournament and defeated The Usos to advance. Ultimately, Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara on the October 22 Raw to win the tournament and become the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championship. Team Rhodes Scholars got their title opportunity against Team Hell No on October 28 at Hell in a Cell, where they won by disqualification, thus Team Hell No retained the title. Rhodes Scholars received another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship on the November 14 of WWE Main Event, but were defeated by Team Hell No. During the match, Rhodes suffered a concussion and a strained shoulder, resulting in him being removed from his traditional five-on-five tag team match at Survivor Series.
Rhodes returned from injury on the December 10 Raw, sporting a mustache, and he and Sandow defeated Primo and Epico, The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil), and The Usos in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to earn the right to face Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in a number one contender Tables match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Six days later at the pay-per-view, Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Mysterio and Sin Cara to become the number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship. Team Rhodes Scholars received their title shots on the next Main Event episode, but were once again defeated by Team Hell No. On the January 7, 2013, Raw, Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Team Hell No in a non-title match to earn another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship. The title rematch took place on January 27 at the Royal Rumble, where Team Rhodes Scholars once again failed to capture the tag team titles. On the next SmackDown, Rhodes and Sandow mutually decided to dissolve Team Rhodes Scholars and remain "best friends". However, they reunited during the pre-show of Elimination Chamber on February 17, but were defeated by the team of Brodus Clay and Tensai. Rhodes and Sandow then aligned themselves with The Bella Twins as they began feuding with Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi). The two teams were originally booked to face each other in an eight-person mixed tag team match on April 7 at WrestleMania 29, but their match was cut due to time constraints. The match instead took place the following night on Raw, where Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls emerged victorious.
On July 14 at Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Rhodes competed in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Damien Sandow after Sandow turned on Rhodes and threw him off of the ladder just as Rhodes was about to win the match. The following night on Raw, Rhodes attacked Sandow and dissolved Team Rhodes Scholars. On the July 26 SmackDown, Rhodes stole the briefcase from Sandow and threw it into the Gulf of Mexico; Sandow was unable to save it as he could not swim. On the August 5 Raw, Rhodes gave Sandow the briefcase that he retrieved from the Gulf of Mexico but kept the contract itself. Rhodes continued his feud with Sandow on that same week's SmackDown, by preventing Sandow from cashing in his new Money in the Bank contract on a vulnerable Alberto Del Rio. On August 18 at SummerSlam, now no longer sporting a mustache, Rhodes defeated Sandow in a singles match, and did so again the following night on Raw. The following week on Raw, Rhodes teamed with The Miz to defeat Sandow and Fandango to end the feud.
On the September 2 Raw, as punishment for speaking out against Chief Operating Officer Triple H's authoritarian rule, Rhodes was forced to put his job on the line when he faced WWE Champion Randy Orton in a non-title match; Rhodes lost and was duly "fired". Over the next few weeks, Rhodes' brother Goldust also lost to Orton with Cody's reinstatement on the line, while his father Dusty Rhodes was knocked out by Big Show while pleading for his sons to get their jobs back. In return, the vengeful Rhodes brothers gatecrashed Raw by attacking The Shield.
On October 6 at Battleground, Rhodes and Goldust won their jobs back when they defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a non-title match. The Rhodes brothers then defeated Reigns and Rollins with the help of Big Show in a no disqualification match on the October 14 Raw, to capture the tag titles. On the December 13 SmackDown, it was announced that Cody Rhodes and Goldust would defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Real Americans (Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro), RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel), and Big Show and Rey Mysterio in a fatal four-way tag team match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. At the Royal Rumble, Rhodes and Goldust dropped the tag titles to The New Age Outlaws. In the Royal Rumble match itself, Goldust accidentally eliminated Rhodes right before Roman Reigns eliminated him. Goldust and Rhodes faced the Outlaws in a rematch on Raw after the Royal Rumble, which ended in a no contest after Brock Lesnar attacked them both. The rematch was then rescheduled for the February 3 Raw in a steel cage, which The New Age Outlaws won.
Following this match, they lost momentum and went through a losing streak. After losing to Curtis Axel and Ryback, Cody told Goldust to find a better tag team partner and left his brother. Following Payback, Rhodes tried to find a new partner for his brother, getting Sin Cara, R-Truth, and Kofi Kingston to replace him in the team, both times losing to Axel and Ryback.
On the June 16 Raw, Rhodes debuted a new character called Stardust, with face paint, a bodysuit and mannerisms similar to those of Goldust. He teamed with his brother to defeat RybAxel that night and then at both Money in the Bank and on Raw. On the August 18 Raw, Stardust and Goldust defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos in a non-title match. This led to a rematch on the August 25 Raw, where Stardust and Goldust defeated The Usos via countout, but did not win the titles. After the match, both Stardust and Goldust attacked The Usos. At Night of Champions, Stardust and Goldust defeated the Usos to become WWE Tag Team Champions for their second reign as a team. At Hell in a Cell, they successfully retained against The Usos. They lost the title to Damien Mizdow and The Miz in a fatal four-way tag team match also involving The Usos and Los Matadores the next month at Survivor Series, while also losing a rematch the next night on Raw.
In early February 2015, Goldust and Stardust were defeated by The Ascension and once again began tensions with Stardust showing his frustrations at Goldust. After the match, Goldust called Stardust "Cody" and Stardust responded by telling Goldust to never refer to him by that name again. On the February 16 Raw, Stardust executed Cross Rhodes on Goldust after a tag match, dissolving the team. He then explained to his father that Cody Rhodes was dead and Dusty may as well be, too. This led to a match between Goldust and Stardust at Fastlane, which Goldust won. Afterwards, Stardust attacked Goldust backstage, while exclaiming to his father that he had killed Cody Rhodes. Stardust also attacked Goldust after Goldust won a match against Adam Rose while pretending to be one of Rose's Rosebuds in a costume suit. The feud officially concluded as Stardust then became involved in the Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31, which was won by Daniel Bryan.
On the April 6 Raw, Stardust answered John Cena's United States Championship open challenge, but failed to win the title. Stardust was defeated by R-Truth in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament and at the Payback pre-show.
The Stardust character eventually evolved to resemble a comic book supervillain, which led to him entering a storyline rivalry with actor Stephen Amell. After confronting Amell on the May 25 Raw, Stardust renamed his finishing maneuver The Queen's Crossbow. After taking a brief hiatus following the death of his father, Stardust returned on the July 13 Raw, defeating Neville, starting a new rivalry between the two. Stardust then went on a winning streak, defeating the likes of R-Truth, Zack Ryder and Fandango. He attacked Neville following his match with King Barrett, and also attacked guest star Stephen Amell, leading to Amell attacking Stardust. At SummerSlam, Stardust and Barrett were defeated in a tag team match by Amell and Neville.
On the September 3 SmackDown, The Ascension aligned themselves with Stardust by attacking Neville before their match, forming the faction "The Cosmic Wasteland". At Night of Champions, they defeated Neville and The Lucha Dragons in a six-man tag team match in the pre-show. After this, they were defeated in every match in which they participated. During the 2015 Slammy Awards, Stardust stole Stephen Amell's trophy for celebrity moment of the year. He then suffered back-to-back losses during his feud with Titus O'Neil, who attempted to convince Stardust to go back to being Cody Rhodes.
On the February 15 Raw, Stardust participated in a five-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but did not win the match. At WrestleMania 32, Stardust competed in a seven-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, which was won by Zack Ryder. Post-WrestleMania, Stardust lost to Apollo Crews four times on television, which was followed by a loss to Zack Ryder on the May 20 episode of Superstars.
On May 22, 2016, Rhodes was released from his WWE contract.
Rhodes returned to WWE as "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes, in a match against Seth Rollins on April 2, 2022 at WrestleMania 38; Rhodes would defeat Rollins. On the subsequent episode of Raw, Rhodes opened the program with a promo where he stated that he returned to win the championship that his father, Dusty Rhodes, never got to hold (referring to the WWE Championship.) After defeating The Miz in a singles match on the April 10 episode of Raw, Seth Rollins would challenge Rhodes to a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash, which Rhodes accepted. At the event, Rhodes would once again defeat Rollins. Ahead of their clash inside Hell in a Cell at the eponymous event the following month, Rhodes suffered a pectoral muscle tear, which had eventuated halfway through a brawl on the prior edition of Raw. He entered Hell in a Cell with a massive spot of discolored skin, but despite the severe injury, managed to defeat Rollins for the third time. On the June 6 episode of Raw, Rhodes discussed his injury during a promo about the upcoming Money in the Bank event, until Seth Rollins came out and shook his hand. However, as Rhodes was making his exit, Rollins attacked him from behind with a sledgehammer.
After various vignettes documented his recovery from injury, on the January 16, 2023 episode of Raw, Rhodes announced he would return to competition in the men's Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble on January 28. Cody Rhodes entered at number thirty in the Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Gunther to win the match. On the January 30 episode of Raw, Rhodes challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39. He would go on to unsuccessfully challenge Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship after interference from Solo Sikoa on Night Two of the event. On the April 3 episode of Raw the day after, Rhodes confronted and challenged Reigns to a rematch only for Reigns to decline. Rhodes then challenged Reigns and Sikoa to a tag team match later that night, and Reigns accepted under the condition that Rhodes' partner was someone who competed at WrestleMania 39. Rhodes would choose Brock Lesnar; however, the match never occurred due to Rhodes getting viciously assaulted by Lesnar before the match could begin. Rhodes went on to defeat Lesnar at Backlash. On the May 8 episode of Raw, Rhodes challenged Finn Bálor and The Miz in the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, where he failed to win due to the interference of Lesnar. Lesnar would defeat Rhodes at Night of Champions later that month. At Money in the Bank, Rhodes went on to defeat Dominik Mysterio despite interference from Rhea Ripley. The next night on Raw, before he could challenge World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Rhodes was attacked by a returning Brock Lesnar, which set up a rubber match between the two at SummerSlam. Rhodes went on to win the bout, with Lesnar endorsing Rhodes after the match.
Cody next appeared as a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect at Payback, announcing that Jey Uso would be reinstated and would be the newest member on the Raw roster. Cody and Jey then feuded with The Judgment Day, with them winning the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships from Finn Balor and Damian Priest at Fastlane. Cody and Jey went on to retain their titles against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on the following episode of Raw and Austin Theory and Grayson Waller on the following episode of SmackDown. Cody and Jey, however, would lose the titles back to Bálor and Priest in a rematch on the October 16 episode of Raw after interference from Jey's brother Jimmy, ending their reign at 9 days. On the November 13 episode of Raw, Rhodes and Jey failed to regain the titles from Bálor and Priest after interference from Drew McIntyre. At Survivor Series WarGames on November 25, Rhodes, Seth "Freakin" Rollins, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Randy Orton defeated The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh) and Drew McIntyre in a WarGames match.
On the November 27 episode of Raw, Rhodes announced he would compete in the men's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2024, which he won after last eliminating CM Punk. Rhodes' win was the first time in 26 years that a superstar had won two consecutive Rumble matches, the last being Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1998. Minutes after winning the match, Rhodes would point to Roman Reigns, signaling that he would once again challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania XL. However, on the February 2 episode of SmackDown, Rhodes said that he would not challenge Reigns at WrestleMania XL; The Rock then made appeared and confronted Reigns, with Rhodes shaking Rock's hand and leaving the ring to Reigns and The Rock. During the WrestleMania XL media event on February 8, in which The Rock, Reigns and Seth Rollins were on hand to hear Rhodes' decision, Reigns and Rock decided amongst themselves that they would be the main event of WrestleMania XL. Rhodes then appeared and asserted that it was his choice since he won the Royal Rumble, and then announced that he chose Reigns. After bringing up each other's families, Rock said that he and Rhodes now had issues, slapping Rhodes in the face and thus aligning with the Bloodline.
On April 6, on night one of WrestleMania XL, Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Rollins lost to The Rock and Reigns, meaning that on night two of WrestleMania XL, Rhodes' match against Reigns would be a Bloodline Rules match. Despite this, on night two, Rhodes would ultimately defeat Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship to capture his first world title in WWE. On the April 12 episode of SmackDown, Rhodes announced that he would defend his Undisputed WWE Championship at Backlash France against the winner of a six-man tournament, which was won by AJ Styles. At the event on May 4, Rhodes defeated Styles in his first title defense. Rhodes appeared on the following SmackDown to see who his next opponent would be; SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis then introduced United States Champion Logan Paul, and a champion versus champion match was scheduled for King and Queen of the Ring. At the event on May 25, Rhodes defeated Paul to retain the title. On the May 31 episode of SmackDown, AJ Styles gave what seemed like a retirement speech, only for AJ to invite Cody to the ring and attack him. The following week on SmackDown, Rhodes challenged Styles to an "I Quit" match for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash at the Castle, which was made official that night. At the event, Cody successfully defended his title against Styles. Following the match, he was assaulted by The Bloodline before Randy Orton and Kevin Owens made the save. On the June 21 episode of SmackDown, Cody challenged Solo Sikoa to a match which ended in disqualification following interference by The Bloodline and the debuting Jacob Fatu. At Money in the Bank, The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu) defeated Rhodes, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens in a six-man tag team match, with Rhodes being pinned by Sikoa. At SummerSlam on August 3, Rhodes retained his title against Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules match after an assist from the returning Roman Reigns. Rhodes would once again successfully defend the title against Sikoa during the September 13 episode of SmackDown in a steel cage match. Following the cage match, which saw Reigns come to Rhodes' defense from the Bloodline, Rhodes and Reigns mutually agreed to team up against Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood on October 5. At the event, Rhodes and Reigns were victorious following interference from the returning Jimmy Uso. After the event went off the air, Rhodes was attacked by Kevin Owens in the parking lot. At Crown Jewel on November 2, Rhodes defeated World Heavyweight Champion Gunther to win the inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Championship.