Lassiter Alum A Star at WWE SmackDown

If you enjoy WWE SmackDown, you're in for a treat. “Dashing” Cody Rhodes is one of more than a dozen wrestlers appearing in the SmackDown World Tour at James Brown Arena on Saturday. It will be televised.

As a teenager, Rhodes, born Cody Garrett Runnels, was a successful wrestler. As a junior, he won the Georgia state wrestling tournament at 189 pounds in 2003, and defended his title his senior year, according to The Augusta Chronicle.

Rhodes, a Marietta native and son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, told The Augusta Chronicle that the TV brawls and Smack­­Down are basically just commercials for the live tour. “The live events are hands-down our favorite things. It feels larger. The fans are closer. The people are right on top of you. There are no cameras in the way," he said.

Rhodes will battle Booker T, who comes out of his partial retirement for the match.

Rhodes is the current Intercontinental wrestling champion and is a four-time World Tag Team champion.

Since his 2007 WWE television debut, he’s been a spokesman against bullying in schools and has traveled to entertain the U.S. Army National Guard troops. “It’s the coolest thing,” he said.