When WWE announced that Cody Rhodes would be in the Men’s Royal Rumble match in San Antonio at the end of this month, many were shocked. Rhodes hasn’t been seen in a WWE ring since tearing his pectoral muscle on the eve of his Hell in a Cell war with Seth Rollins in June last year. The rumble seemed like a likely landing spot for his return, but given the pop that Rhodes would have received as a surprise entrant, no one expected WWE to confirm his participation before the event.
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Royal Rumble Madness
According to WrestleVotes, however, there was a reason for Rhodes’ name to be announced ahead of time.
Asked a source the reasoning behind Cody’s Rumble return being announced as opposed to a surprise…
Source said it’s twofold, one being that nearly everyone expected it to happen already & two, source states they are “more than pleased” w/ the other surprises that are lined up.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) January 19, 2023
This announcement has led to some exciting moves. The first is that Rhodes was immediately installed as the betting favorite to win the Royal Rumble. This makes sense. Rhodes is a fresh face in the company, and his profile on the Indy scene, in New Japan, and then in AEW gives him credibility as a challenger to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. There is also the issue that Reigns has run through just about everyone in the company, so new blood like Rhodes is the only way that WWE can go to create a match that feels fresh and that can be sold with a chance that there is a title change.
No one in San Antonio would have an issue with Rhodes winning. The sight of his purple chest at Hell in the Cell is one that no fan will ever forget. It has bought him years’ worth of buy-in from the fans, and his babyface reception will be just as big as the absurd pop he received on his WrestleMania return last April. Having said that, the flip side of this announcement is almost as exciting.
If Rhodes doesn’t move the needle in terms of surprises, then who does?
Will we finally see The Rock show up to put Reigns in his place? Did Stone Cold Steve Austin get the bug at WrestleMania last year, and does he want to do one more match? Is CM Punk out of his AEW contract yet? Did Karl Anderson wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom in January open the forbidden door between WWE and New Japan?
There are so many options on the table here. If it were Vince running WWE creative still, then we would likely have to settle for Kevin Nash (again) and various members of The Spirit Squad. We hope for more. Honestly, we expect more. Either way, we will find out in a week just what surprises WWE brass was happy with.
Always remember folks. Pro Wrestling is Real.
