Cody Rhodes literally punched his ticket to become a WWE champion after returning to the WWE just in time for the 2023 men's Royal Rumble on Saturday night.
This year's Royal Rumble didn't think twice to open with arguably the most important match of the evening. With 29 world title hopefuls sharing the ring with him, including a surprisingly spry and daredevilish-as-usual Logan Paul, Rhodes outlasted them all en route to a spectacular finish.
The end was a bittersweet moment for Gunther's fans, who started the match No. 1, only to be eliminated by the American Nightmare, who came in at No. 30. For what it's worth, The Ring General did set a new record at this year's men's Rumble after lasting for one hour, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds.
Rhodes looked as good as ever since his first in-ring match since the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view last June 5. He showed no signs of his torn pectoral muscle after spending the last couple of months on the mend.
Interestingly, Rhodes' return to the WWE mirrors that of Triple H at the 2002 Royal Rumble, which saw The Game walk away with the win from the said event en route to successfully snatch the Undisputed WWF Championship at WrestleMania 18 a few months later. The WWE Creative Head might be setting up the former All Elite Wrestling executive vice president for a similar patch come April at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
What isn't clear is if Rhodes and Reigns will duke it out for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 or if the WWE has other plans for one of the two belts before then.
Regardless, Rhodes should be more than happy to get a fair shot at either title after telling the world that it's his dream to become a WWE world champion.
With that said, Rhodes' Royal Rumble win all but confirms that Reigns vs The Rock as well as Reigns vs Stone Cold will not happen this April.
