3 times WWE referenced Cody Rhodes on the road to WrestleMania 38 

Cody Rhodes has been the talk of the professional wrestling world ever since he announced his departure from AEW a few weeks ago. Speculation swirled around about him rejoining WWE, re-signing with AEW, appearing at Elimination Chamber, appearing on the 14th March RAW in his hometown of Jacksonville, and so on.

The American Nightmare is yet to appear in any promotion but has been active on Twitter, addressing everything but the elephant in the room - his future.

Several sources have reported that Rhodes has signed with WWE. However, neither the star nor the company have confirmed the deal. This, however, has not stopped the promotion from teasing the Nightmare's return with clever references to his past and present personas.

Let's recap three Cody Rhodes references made in WWE over the past few weeks. If you caught any that we left out, please let us know in the comments section.

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#3: Corey Graves used Cody Rhodes nicknames to describe Seth Rollins' WrestleMania hopes

On the 14th March 2022 edition of RAW, Cody Rhodes' heavily rumored WrestleMania 38 opponent Seth Freakin' Rollins sought a path to the Show of Shows. The Visionary interrupted his best friend Kevin Owens to share his plans for the Showcase Of Immortals.

The former SHIELD member suggested hosting a talk show similar to Owens' KO show with special guest "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The two friendly superstars could not agree and by the end of the night, were facing off for the right to host the talk show.

Rollins lost, walking away with a blank facial expression. RAW commentator Corey Graves stated that the King Slayer's WrestleMania hopes had been "dashed" and that he was facing a "nightmare". Fans decoded these as references to Rhodes' stints as The Dashing One in WWE and The American Nightmare in AEW.

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#2: Edge gave a nod to Cody Rhodes while challenging the RAW locker room

On the February 22, 2022 episode of RAW, Edge cut an intense promo. The Rated R superstar started off calmly, chronicling his Show of Shows history and sending D-Von Dudley wishes of good health.

He then challenged anyone in the locker room to a WrestleMania 38 match, stating how he had to be "phenomenal" to outdo his previous performances at the event every year, at which point the fans chanted for AJ Styles. He ended his promo by telling any potential challenger that facing him would force them to become "undeniable" and help them "Live Forever", both key words of famous promos by Rhodes.

The Ultimate Opportunist ended up being challenged by Styles, but these crumbs could foreshadow a clash with the American Nightmare down the road.

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#1: The Miz teases Cody Rhodes as his mystery WrestleMania 38 partner

Cody Rhodes was expected by the WWE Universe on the RAW after Elimination Chamber 2022. With the Road to WrestleMania 38 entering its final stretch, fans believed the former AEW EVP would make his second debut and begin a storyline culminating at the Show of Shows.

One potential direction that he could have taken was joining real-life friend The Miz, who needed a partner to take on the Mysterios.

The Awesome One hosted a segment wherein he hyped his mystery partner as "dashing" and "from a fighting family." For a split second, some fans thought this was in reference to Rhodes' "Dashing" gimmick and his family ties to Dusty and Dustin Rhodes.

In the end, the A-Lister enlisted Logan Paul to be in his corner at the Showcase of Immortals. However, his choice of words presenting his partner was certainly interesting to anyone familiar with the man once known as Stardust.