Brandi Rhodes | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rhodes in 2011 | |
| Born | Brandi Alexis Reed[1] (1983-06-23)June 23, 1983 (age 42) Canton, Michigan, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (BA) University of Miami (MA) |
| Occupation | Professional wrestler • professional wrestling ring announcer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Family | Dusty Rhodes (father-in-law) Dustin Rhodes (half-brother-in-law) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Brandi[2] Brandi Rhodes[3] Eden[4] Eden Stiles[4] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[5] |
| Billed from | Ann Arbor, Michigan[6] Atlanta, Georgia[7] Canton, Michigan Detroit, Michigan[8] Los Angeles, California[9] Marietta, Georgia[10] |
| Trained by | Norman Smiley Sara Del Rey[11] |
| Debut | April 2011 |
| Retired | February 2022 |
Brandi Alexis Runnels[12] (néeReed; born June 23, 1983), known professionally asBrandi Rhodes, is an Americanring announcer and retiredprofessional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure inWWE and as the formerchief brand officer andexecutive vice president (EVP) of wrestling promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she also performed as a wrestler.
She began her career in WWE in 2011, where she was assigned to thefarm territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling. She worked as a ring announcer under the name ofEden Stiles. During that time, she marriedCody Rhodes. After her husband left WWE in 2016, she left a few days later. During the following years, she worked as a wrestler in several promotions, most notablyImpact Wrestling,Ring of Honor, andWorld Wonder Ring Stardom. In 2019, she joined the newly created promotion All Elite Wrestling. She left AEW in February 2022, and later retired from professional wrestling.
She was also a cast member on theE!reality television seriesWAGS Atlanta. Prior to her wrestling career, she was afigure skater and a televisionnews anchor.
Brandi Alexis Reed was born and raised inCanton, Michigan, a suburb ofDetroit, Michigan, and has an older brother named Jason Reed.[13] She was a competitivefigure skater for 17 years, beginning at the age of four.[14] As a sophomore in college, Reed stopped ice skating competitively to focus on academics and a future broadcasting career.[15] Reed graduated from theUniversity of Michigan on a full scholarship.[15] She worked as a localnews reporter for two years before relocating toMiami,Florida, to pursue a career in modeling and acting.[4] While living in Miami, Reed completed amaster's degree inbroadcast journalism from theUniversity of Miami.[13]
While working as a model after completing her master's degree, Reed was invited to a WWE tryout in 2011. She signed adevelopmental contract withWWE in March 2011 and was assigned toFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW). The following month, she debuted under the ring nameBrandi, accompanyingLucky Cannon at an FCWhouse show. On May 12, she began working as aring announcer on weekly episodes ofSuperstars. On July 11, Reed also began announcing duties onNXT, under the ring nameEden Stiles. She filled in as the ring announcer forSmackDown on the July 15[16] and November 11 episodes.[17] Her only match took place on July 16 atFCW Summer SlamaRama, where she was involved in abattle royal, which was won bySonia.[18] In December, at her request, Reed was released from her WWE contract.[19]
In November 2013, Reed announced onTwitter that she would be returning to WWE.[20] Her ring name was shortened toEden and resumed her role as a ring announcer, first appearing onNXT. In February 2014, Eden began avideo blog, which ran until January 2015 and was published on the WWE website.[21] In October 2014, Eden became the regular ring announcer and backstage interviewer forSmackDown andMain Event.[4][22] In late 2014, Eden made her pay-per-view ring announcing debut atHell in a Cell (2014), as well as becoming the backup ring announcer forRaw, whileLilian Garcia was recovering from surgery.[23][24] On May 24, 2016, Rhodes was granted her release from WWE, just days after her husbandCody Rhodes also requested his release.[25][26]
On June 3, 2016, it was announced that Rhodes would be in Cody Rhodes' corner in his match againstMike Bennett at "Wrestling Under the Stars" on August 26 inPittsfield, Massachusetts.[27] On October 10, it was announced that Rhodes will make her singles wrestling debut againstJordynne Grace at Pro Wrestling Magic, defeating her on October 15. On July 15, 2017, she defeatedTessa Blanchard atNortheast Wrestling.[28] In 2018, she wrestled for United Kingdom promotion Fight Forever Wrestling and defeatedBea Priestley andViper.[29] Rhodes made a surprise appearance alongsideBritt Baker andNyla Rose atRise Wrestling in 2019, coming to the aid ofKylie Rae, and setting up a match between the three atDouble or Nothing.[30]
On September 16, 2016, it was reported by TMZ that Rhodes had signed with TNA. Three days later, TNA confirmed Rhodes' signing.[31] AtBound for Glory, Rhodes, alongside her husbandCody, made her TNA debut as aface, attackingMaria and her husbandMike Bennett to begin a feud between the two couples. Brandi made her in ring debut on the October 28 episode ofImpact Wrestling alongside her husbandCody againstMaria andMike Bennett in amixed tag team match. On February 16, Brandi andMoose defeatedDecay (Crazzy Steve andRosemary) in a mixed tag team match. On February 23 Brandi's husband Cody returned, attackingMoose out of jealousy after finding out she had Moose's phone number. On April 6, Rhodes participated in a gauntlet match for being the number one contender to Rosemary'sKnockouts Championship, which was won byODB. Rhodes then parted ways with Impact Wrestling. Reportedly the promotion wanted a percentage from a non-wrestling related television appearance Rhodes had made, which led to her requesting her release.[32]
Rhodes made herRing of Honor in-ring debut in theWomen of Honor division at ROH's July 29, 2017, television tapings at theCabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina. She teamed withSumie Sakai to battle Jenny Rose andMandy Leon.[33][34] She had previously briefly appeared in ROH to introduce Cody for his match againstJay Lethal at theFinal Battle PPV on December 2, 2016.[35] In 2018 she entered the inauguralWomen of Honor World Championship but lost toTenille Dashwood in the quarterfinals.[36]
Prior to enteringWorld Wonder Ring Stardom's 2018 Cinderella Tournament, it was announced that Rhodes would be joining the Oedo Tai stable.[37] In the tournament, she defeated fellow stablemateNatsu Sumire in the first round, but lost toIo Shirai in the quarterfinals.[38] Rhodes wrestled in three tag team matches alongside Oedo Tai stablemates, winning all three. It was later revealed that she had suffered a broken collarbone during this time.[39]
In 2019, Rhodes became Chief Brand Officer ofAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), a new wrestling promotion co-founded by her husband.[40] AtDouble or Nothing, AEW's first pay-per-view, on May 25, 2019, Rhodes appeared during the women's triple threat match betweenBritt Baker,Nyla Rose, andKylie Rae and announced that she was addingAwesome Kong to the match, which Baker won, establishing Rhodes as a heel. Rhodes made her AEW in-ring debut atFight for the Fallen on July 13, defeatingAllie due to interference from Kong. AtAll Out, she wrestled in theCasino Battle Royale and was eliminated by Baker and Allie. During the following months, Rhodes and Kong began cutting off and collecting women's hair. The Nightmare Collective later gained new membersMel andLuther. AtBash at the Beach, Mel and Kong were originally scheduled to faceKris Statlander andHikaru Shida, however Kong was not medically cleared and Rhodes would replace her in a losing effort.[41] The Nightmare Collective was badly received by fans and in February, Rhodes left the group and Kong was off TV to filmGLOW.[42]
During the following weeks, she accompanied her husband Cody to his matches, as well as the team of The Natural Nightmares Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall. She also formed a tag team called The Nightmare Sisters with Allie. On the November 18, 2020, episode ofAEW Dynamite,Jade Cargill, who interrupted Cody the previous week, attacked Brandi backstage, wrapped her arm in a chair and stomped on it whileVickie Guerrero and Nyla Rose prevented assistance.[43] On the December 9, 2020, episode ofDynamite, Brandi confronted NBA legendShaquille O'Neal during his interview with Tony Schiavone, Shaq claimed Cargill could give Brandi pointers, leading to her throwing a glass of water on him.[44][45] She made sporadic appearances on AEW after the birth of her daughter, most recently as a tweener while verbal sparring with Dan Lambert, and getting into a physical altercation withPaige VanZant; however, before the storyline could be continued, she and Cody left AEW on February 15, 2022.[46]
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AtWrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024, Brandi was part of Cody's entrance for his match againstRoman Reigns for theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship. After Cody won, she went into the ring to celebrate with him.[47]
Rhodes has appeared in national advertisements forBudweiser andKFC, as well asMaxim.[4] Rhodes has launched her own line ofswimwear called "Confection Swimwear".[14]
On November 2, 2017, Rhodes joined the cast of theE! television seriesWAGS Atlanta.[48]
In 2015 atWrestleMania, Rhodes became the first African-American woman to be a ring announcer for a major American wrestling promotion. She then became the first woman of color to appear in a match atWrestle Kingdom in 2018. As AEW's Chief Branding Officer, Rhodes became the first African-American woman to hold an executive position in a major North American wrestling promotion. With AEW, she secured a partnership with KultureCity, a nonprofit that makes large-scale events inclusive for people with sensory needs.[15]
In 2021, she starred with her husbandCody Rhodes on the reality showRhodes to the Top.[49]
Reed married professional wrestlerCody Rhodes in September 2013.[50][51] The couple have two children.[52][53] Reed is also the cousin of professional wrestlerScorpio Sky.[54][better source needed]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database