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The WWE Royal Rumble offers the only way to secure a guaranteed WrestleMania 40 title shot, so CM Punk and Cody Rhodes are continuing their heated rivalry coming out of Monday's go-home WWE RAW.
The Second City Saint and The American Nightmare were the first two entrants named for the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble Match. After some tension, the rivalry between the former AEW champions picked up on this week's WWE RAW when Punk brought up the late Dusty Rhodes. Punk and The American Dream were close, and he claimed that Dusty asked him to keep an eye on Cody while he was on his WWE journey. Punk said yes and watched The Grandson of a Plumber grow into a WWE Superstar.
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Punk then said he told the never-before-heard story, and talked about Cody and his father, for one brutal reason - he felt like he would be breaking a promise on Saturday at the Rumble. The two-time Money in the Bank winner threatened Rhodes and said he would do whatever it takes to win on Saturday.
The Straight Edge Superstar took to his Instagram Stories today to post photos of Dusty and his son. The first post was a graphic of the two veterans facing off on WWE RAW. Punk attached Anthrax's live version of the 'Room For One More' single, but no caption.
Punk's next Instagram Stories post featured the 45-year-old, smirking with his tongue out, standing in front of what looks like The Common Man's smiling face on the side of a WWE production truck. He also did not caption this post, but chose 'New Level' by A$AP Ferg and Future for the song.
Punk has teamed up and worked as opponents with Cody almost two dozen times while in OVW and WWE. Their first singles bout was won by Punk on the September 22, 2008, episode of RAW. Rhodes then got the win back via count-out three months later and that was their last one-on-one contest.
CM Punk on being friends with WWE Hall of Famers
Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk were among the WWE Hall of Famers who had endorsed CM Punk. The Chicagoan often talked about how close he was with The American Dream.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Kevin Kellam, the former AEW World Champion previously mentioned Funk, Dusty, and Harley Race when talking about his legacy. Punk has often credited these legends for a majority of his early success.
"So to me, what I would like my legacy to be is, I was the kid that Terry Funk loved, I was a kid that Harley Race loved, I was a kid that Dusty Rhodes loved. I was a kid that all these old school wrestlers loved. And then I got to a place where I thought was supposed to be my dream job, and these dudes that idolized these same guys that loved me didn't like me, and it didn't make any sense to me. So, going forward, I think my legacy is to just help out the young guys the way Harley helped me, the way Terry Funk helped me, the way Eddie Guerrero helped me. And just not be a d**k. Because for what? Protect a spot. Who cares? That's my legacy," Punk said.
Punk and Dusty worked together once in 2005 at a WrestleReunion event. Dusty teamed with son Dustin Rhodes and Mike Graham for a win over Punk, Abdullah the Butcher, and Kevin Sullivan.
What do you think of the CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes feud so far? Who is more deserving of a title shot? Sound off in the comments section below!
