The wrestling world has reacted to WWE seemingly spoiling Cody Rhodes' potential return at the Royal Rumble.
Cody Rhodes returned to the company at WrestleMania 38 after six years. It was a huge signing as the former Intercontinental Champion was rival company AEW's Executive Vice President prior to his WWE move.
He went on to face and defeat Seth Rollins upon his arrival in the company last year. The two met again at WrestleMania Backlash, where Rhodes emerged victorious again. At Hell in a Cell, despite dealing with a gruesome pectoral injury, The American Nightmare won for a third time inside Hell in a Cell.
Rhodes has been missing from in-ring action ever since. His recovery has progressed well, and he made a pretaped appearance on a recent episode of RAW. He addressed his return, talked about his trilogy against Seth Rollins, and reiterated that once he comes back, he will pursue the WWE Championship.
WWE recently released a poster for Royal Rumble 2023. The company updated it to add Cody Rhodes to the graphic, making fans believe that this spoiled the former AEW TNT Champion's return at the upcoming premium live event.
Others felt that his return was more or less obvious already, so this was not much of a spoiler.
Cody Rhodes ruled out a fourth match against Seth Rollins after his WWE return
As mentioned previously, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins were embroiled in a lengthy feud that saw the two face each other at three different premium live events.
The former AEW star won every time. During his video call on WWE RAW, he ruled out a fourth match against The Messiah.
“Make no mistake about it. Seth and I are not chummy, we’re not best friends. But Seth Rollins is one of the top three wrestlers in the entire world. Three matches, not just one but three matches was an honor. Again, we’re not best friends. We don’t exchange Christmas cards, but there’s a bond by battle there with Seth and myself. I know he’s probably clamoring for a fourth match, [but] I don’t know if that’s on my radar.”
Cody Rhodes has stated multiple times that winning the world title was his biggest motivation behind making a return to the Stamford-based company. The expectation is for him to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
It would be a blockbuster match, without a doubt. Could Rhodes realize his lifelong dream in Hollywood at the Showcase of the Immortals?