Brandi Rhodes

Brandi Alexis Runnels (née Reed; born June 23, 1983), known professionally as Brandi Rhodes, is an American professional wrestler, ring announcer, model, businesswoman and television personality. She is known for her time as the former Chief Brand Officer of wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she also performed as a wrestler.

She began her career in WWE, where she was assigned to the farm territory Florida Championship Wrestling. She worked as a ring announcer under the name of Eden Stiles. During that time, she married Cody 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 notably Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and World Wonder Ring Stardom. In 2019, she joined the newly created promotion All Elite Wrestling.

She was also a cast member on the E! reality television series ''WAGS Atlanta''. Prior to her wrestling career, she was a figure skater and a television news anchor.

Early life

Brandi Alexis Reed was born and raised in the Canton, Michigan suburb of Detroit, Michigan and has an older brother named Jason Reed. She was a competitive figure skater for 17 years, beginning at the age of four. As a sophomore in college, Reed stopped ice skating competitively to focus on academics and a future broadcasting career. Reed graduated from the University of Michigan on a full-ride scholarship. She worked as a local news reporter for two years before relocating to Miami, Florida, to pursue a career in modeling and acting. While living in Miami, Reed completed a Master's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Miami.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE (2011)

While working as a model after completing her master's degree, Reed was invited to a WWE tryout in 2011. She signed a developmental contract with WWE in March 2011 and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). The following month, she debuted under the ring name Brandi, accompanying Lucky Cannon at an FCW house show. On May 12, she began working as a ring announcer on weekly episodes of '' Superstars''. On July 11, Reed also began announcing duties on ''NXT'', under the ring name Eden Stiles. She filled in as the ring announcer for ''SmackDown'' on the July 15 and November 11 episodes. Her only match took place on July 16 at ''FCW Summer SlamaRama'', where she was involved in a battle royal, which was won by Sonia. In December, at her request, Reed was released from her WWE contract.

Return to WWE (2013–2016)

In November 2013, Rhodes announced on Twitter that she would be returning to WWE. Her ring name was shortened to Eden and resumed her role as a ring announcer, first appearing on ''NXT''. In February 2014, Eden began a video blog, which ran until January 2015 and was published on the WWE website. In October 2014, Eden became the regular ring announcer and backstage interviewer for ''SmackDown'' and ''Main Event''. In late-March 2015, Eden made her pay-per-view ring announcing debut at WrestleMania 31, as well as becoming the backup ring announcer for ''Raw'', while Lilian Garcia was recovering from surgery. On May 24, 2016, Rhodes was granted her release from WWE, just days after her husband Cody Rhodes also requested his release.

Independent circuit (2016–2019)

On June 3, 2016, it was announced that Rhodes would be in Cody Rhodes' corner in his match against Mike Bennett at "Wrestling Under the Stars" on August 26 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. On October 10, it was announced that Rhodes will make her singles wrestling debut against Jordynne Grace at Pro Wrestling Magic, defeating her on October 15. On July 15, 2017, she defeated Tessa Blanchard at Northeast Wrestling. In 2018, she wrestled for United Kingdom promotion Fight Forever Wrestling and defeated Bea Priestley and Viper. Rhodes made a surprise appearance alongside Britt Baker and Nyla Rose at Rise Wrestling in 2019, coming to the aid of Kylie Rae, and setting up a match between the three at Double or Nothing.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling (2016–2017)

On September 16, 2016, it was reported by TMZ that Rhodes had signed with TNA. Three days later, TNA confirmed Rhodes' signing. At Bound for Glory, Rhodes, alongside her husband Cody, made her TNA debut as a face, attacking Maria and her husband Mike Bennett to begin a feud between the two couples. Brandi made her in ring debut, in October, 28 in the episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' alongside her husband Cody against Maria and Mike Bennett in intergender tag team match. On February 16, 2017, in the episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' Brandi and Moose defeated Decay (Crazzy Steve and Rosemary) in a mix tag team match. On the February 23, 2017, in the episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' Brandi's husband Cody returned but attacked Moose out of jealousy after finding out she had Moose's phone number. On April 6, 2017, during the episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Rhodes participated in a gauntlet match for being the number one contender to Rosemary's Knockouts Championship, which was won by ODB. 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.

Ring of Honor (2017–2018)

Rhodes made her Ring of Honor in-ring debut at its July 29, 2017, television tapings at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina. She teamed with Sumie Sakai to battle Jenny Rose and Mandy Leon. She had previously briefly appeared in ROH to introduce Cody for his match against Jay Lethal at the Final Battle PPV on December 2, 2016.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2018)

Prior to entering World Wonder Ring Stardom's 2018 Cinderella Tournament, it was announced that Rhodes would be joining the Oedo Tai stable. In the tournament, she defeated fellow stablemate Natsu Sumire in the first round, but lost to Io Shirai in the quarterfinals. 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.

All Elite Wrestling (2019–2022)

In 2019, Rhodes became Chief Brand Officer of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), a new wrestling promotion co-founded by her husband. At Double or Nothing, AEW's first pay-per-view, on May 25, 2019, Rhodes appeared during the women's triple threat match between Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, and Kylie Rae and announced that she was adding Awesome Kong to the match, which Baker won, establishing Rhodes as a heel. Rhodes made her AEW in-ring debut at Fight for the Fallen on July 13, defeating Allie due to interference from Kong. At All Out, she wrestled in the Casino 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 members Mel and Luther. At Bash at the Beach, Mel and Kong were originally scheduled to face Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida, however Kong was not medically cleared and Rhodes would replace her in a losing effort. The Nightmare Collective was badly received by fans and in February, Rhodes left the group and Kong was off TV to film GLOW.

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 of ''AEW Dynamite'', Jade Cargill, who interrupted Cody the previous week, attacked Brandi backstage, wrapped her arm in a chair and stomped on it while Vickie Guerrero and Nyla Rose prevented assistance. On the December 9, 2020, episode of ''Dynamite'', Brandi confronted NBA legend Shaquille 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. 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 with Paige VanZant; however, before the storyline could be continued, she and Cody left AEW on February 15, 2022.

Other media

Rhodes has appeared in national advertisements for Budweiser and KFC, as well as ''Maxim''. Rhodes has launched her own line of swimwear called "Confection Swimwear".

On November 2, 2017, Rhodes joined the cast of the E! television series ''WAGS Atlanta''.

In 2015 at WrestleMania, 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 at Wrestle 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.

She stars with her husband Cody Rhodes on the reality show Rhodes To The Top.

Personal life

Runnels married professional wrestler Cody Rhodes in September 2013. The couple have one child together.

Runnels is the cousin of professional wrestler Scorpio Sky.

Championships and accomplishments

* DDT Pro-Wrestling
** Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship ( 1 time)
* ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
** Ranked No. 50 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the ''PWI Female 100'' in 2019

References

External links

*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Brandi
1983 births
20th-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American women
21st-century professional wrestlers
African-American female models
African-American female professional wrestlers
African-American models
American color commentators
American expatriate sportspeople in Japan
American female models
American female professional wrestlers
American YouTubers
Bullet Club members
Figure skaters from Detroit
Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan
Living people
People from Canton, Michigan
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestlers from Michigan
Professional wrestling managers and valets
Sportspeople from Wayne County, Michigan
University of Miami alumni
University of Michigan alumni
Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions
American female YouTubers