4 Reasons why Cody Rhodes won the 2024 WWE men's Royal Rumble

The 2024 WWE men's Royal Rumble match ended in somewhat shocking fashion as Cody Rhodes threw out CM Punk to win the match for the second year running.

Fans who had expected The Voice Of The Voiceless to claim the win for the first time in his career and stamp his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 40 were left in disbelief watching The American Nightmare go back-to-back.

While Rhodes' win has divided fans right down the middle, it actually makes a lot of sense in some aspects. Many might be wondering what aspects these could be, and they need not look any further than the list below.

Here are four potential reasons why Cody Rhodes, not CM Punk, won the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble.

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#4. Cody Rhodes may have won the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble because The Rock is not coming back at WrestleMania 40

Prior to WWE Royal Rumble 2024, there were plenty of questions regarding Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania 40 plans. Would he finally get a second chance to "Finish The Story" against Roman Reigns? Would he instead pivot to challenge Seth Rollins? Would he end up facing Drew McIntyre in a non-title feud? Would he win the Royal Rumble or use the Elimination Chamber to get to the Show of Shows?

A central factor in the answers to these questions was The Rock's status for The Show Of Shows. Given that Rhodes won the Rumble and immediately made it clear that he was coming for Reigns, it's possible that The Great One's status has been clarified backstage, and he won't be in Philadelphia.

Could we see him set up a year-long feud with the Tribal Chief post-mania like he did with John Cena?

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#3. To give him momentum to eventually "Finish The Story"

Cody Rhodes has done an incredible job of keeping himself massively over since losing to Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 39. Throughout feuds with anyone from Dominik Mysterio to Brock Lesnar, The American Nightmare has kept his magnificent connection with the crowd alive, refusing to get lost in the shuffle of former challengers who slipped back to the middle of the card.

However, in order to arrive at WrestleMania as the prime candidate to dethrone the most dominant champion the industry has seen in almost 40 years, even Rhodes needs an extra push. And there's arguably no greater push in the company's arsenal than winning the Royal Rumble.

The Grandson Of A Plumber winning the 30-man Battle Royal to compete for the grandest prize on the Grandest Stage just makes sense

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#2. The CM Punk factor may have played a part in Cody Rhodes' WWE Royal Rumble win

CM Punk was the overwhelming favorite to win the 2024 WWE Men's Royal Rumble. Having just made an earth-shattering return to the company and immediately become the hottest item in the entire industry, it made a lot of sense to kick off his second run by claiming an honor he never won. However, there were a few things potentially going against this.

First, the company's brass may have wanted to test his loyalty and attitude by gauging his reaction to such a big loss. Additionally, they may have had reservations about his durability, given that he is 45 years old and was somewhat injury-prone in AEW.

Alternatively, the company may have denied him the win to garner sympathy for his quest to headline WrestleMania and trigger an anti-authority run for the ages in the process.

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#1. Seth Rollins' injury may have played a part in Cody Rhodes' WWE Royal Rumble 2024 win

Seth Rollins' knee injury seems to have thrown a huge wrench in WWE's WrestleMania 40 plans. The Visionary faces a race against time to be fit for The Show Of Shows, having damaged his MCL and meniscus against Jinder Mahal. This might have played a part in the company's decision to have Cody Rhodes win the Royal Rumble match for the second year in a row.

Imagine a scenario where CM Punk won the Royal Rumble and spent the next 10 weeks in a compelling program with Seth Rollins, only for the latter not to recover in time to have the match.

It wouldn't have been ideal for the company's business, which could have influenced the creative team to bet on the safer WrestleMania main event up their sleeve.

As for the Rollins-Punk situation, the company might be taking a wait-and-see approach, making it a possibility that The Visionary could vacate the title along the road to 'Mania if his medical evaluation isn't encouraging.