WWE spilled the beans about Cody Rhodes’ return at the Royal Rumble early because The American Nightmare insisted that he did not want his comeback to be a surprise. Rhodes’ long-term absence came from a pectoral injury he sustained ahead of Hell in a Cell PLE. Despite the severity of his injury, Rhodes showed up at the Hell in a Cell match and delivered a barn-burning performance. Although he emerged victorious against Seth Rollins, he was out of commission for around eight months.
Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022 at the grandest stage, WrestleMania 38. With WrestleMania 39 less than a month away, Rhodes is getting closer to completing one year with WWE since his return. So why did Cody Rhodes not want his return in the Royal Rumble match to be a surprise?
Cody Rhodes did not want to be a surprise in the Royal Rumble match
Cody Rhodes had the typical fairy-tale return at the Royal Rumble. Entering the match at number 30, Rhodes’ return was well-received by the fans in attendance. According to WrestleVotes, it was Cody Rhodes’ decision to keep his return overt due to his love for being an “attraction”.
“Cody wanted it out there. He wanted to let people know that he was coming in, to give them something to look forward to. He loves being an attraction.”
WrestleVotes also noted that it made sense for WWE to let Rhodes enter at 30 as any other superstar other than The Rock and Cody Rhodes, entering last, would not have worked. Rhodes went to war with Gunther during the closing moments of the match and managed to topple the Ring General over the top rope.
Cody Rhodes vows to end Roman Reigns’ title reign during their first-ever confrontation on SmackDown
The latest edition of SmackDown saw the Bloodline making their way to the ring for DC to acknowledge the Tribal Chief. Shortly after, Cody Rhodes made his way out and challenged Reigns to talk to him man-to-man without anybody by his side. Reigns then instructed everybody in the Bloodline to leave the men alone.
The promo started with Cody Rhodes recounting his days of struggle in his early days in WWE and after he had left the promotion. He also made reference to his groundbreaking “All In” indie show which gave rise to AEW.
The American Nightmare then noted that the only way for him to exist is by defeating Roman Reigns, something that has been deemed “impossible”. In the end, both men shook hands while Rhodes wished for the better man to win at Mania.
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