New update on WWE's possible plans for Cody Rhodes in the Royal Rumble match

10 days ago, Cody Rhodes announced to the world that he will make his return to the ring at the 2023 Royal Rumble. While many fans expected a surprise entry, his return seems to have been an open secret for a while before his announcement. A new update has revealed what WWE could have planned for Rhodes in the Men's Royal Rumble match.

On the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Cody Rhodes went through a boxing training camp to prepare for his in-ring return, and went from having 17.7% body fat to less than 9%. Boxing training camps are notoriously difficult, with the intention of improving conditioning to another level.

Meltzer noted on WON that The American Nightmare being in a boxing training camp could indicate that he will be in the Royal Rumble match for a long period of time.

Is Cody Rhodes the new favorite to win the Men's Royal Rumble match?

Warning: Possible Royal Rumble spoilers ahead

It will be interesting to see which spot Cody Rhodes gets in the Royal Rumble this Saturday. If the report of him being in the match for a long time is true, then it will be a huge task for him to wrestle that long upon his in-ring return.

Either way, a new report has revealed that WWE has possibly chosen the winners of the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble matches. It stated that Rhodes is a big favorite to win the Men's Rumble, while Rhea Ripley could potentially become the sixth winner of the Women's Royal Rumble.

If Rhodes wins the Rumble, then it will probably confirm that The Rock isn't coming back for a blockbuster match against Roman Reigns. Rhodes has been cited as WWE's backup plan, although many fans now want Sami Zayn to be the one to dethrone The Tribal Chief.