Eden Stiles Ain't about Your Stardust Critiques

Stiles doesn't appreciate appropriating her family for cheap criticisms of WWE booking
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Stardust returned to action on RAW Monday for the first time since the passing of his father, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. His reappearance as the Stardust character, which came with an awesome, comic-styled match graphic with Neville, was a shock to some and a disappointment to others, who wanted to see him come back under his former Cody Rhodes name and work as a babyface in tribute to his father. Well, Brandi Runnels, Stardust's wife who is better known as WWE ring announcer Eden Stiles, wants none of that shit. She penned an animated blog at those who got mad at WWE for not "honoring" the late Rhodes' memory through his son.

The gist of the piece basically accuses those who wanted Stardust's reversion into a different push of being selfish, and I don't think I could disagree with her. The Stardust persona is polarizing to say the least, and many people feel it has run its course. I personally think it's mostly the fault of WWE's booking, which is a common criticism for several characters right now (like King Barrett and Sheamus and Randy Orton and so on and so forth). But to use Papa Rhodes' memory without knowing what he thought to use as justification for eliminating a gimmick one doesn't like is completely hollow and transparently shows the lack of regard for anyone else but that person's feelings about their own entertainment. Even funnier, Stiles details how Big Dust was a fan of the Stardust persona.

The piece may come off as angry, but to note that might send off the vibe that she doesn't deserve to be angry. Everyone has their moments of rage, and honestly, in times of great loss or trouble, the annoying voices get heard more acutely than in times of peace and joy. But that shouldn't deflect from the fact that she's absolutely right in more ways than one. People should think about what they say before saying it, whether it's to a famous person or to any random person on the street, and celebrities are people as well.

It's also not to say that I think criticisms of any character are unfounded because of what the person behind it or whatever feels about it. But a fine line exists between criticizing the Stardust character and making the claim that it should have been scrapped because "It's what Dusty Rhodes would have wanted." The former is good and needed. The latter is what I feel Stiles and Cody Rhodes himself are angry about.