In what might have been the most obvious possible prediction ahead of the 2023 Royal Rumble pay per view, Cody Rhodes has won the 2023 edition of the Men’s Royal Rumble match – the first time he has done so – and has further solidified his standing as one of the WWE‘s top names in achieving this feat. Whereas, in recent years, the Royal Rumble winner typically gets the option of selecting which world champion to chase after, this year poses the unique stipulation that Cody is destined for a collision course with Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.
A Long Time Coming
As we all know, Cody Rhodes has had one of the most unique professional wrestling careers in the entire history of the business. Cody grew up in the shadow of a famous older brother, Goldust (Dustin Rhodes), and an even more famous and legendary father, Dusty Rhodes. For a while, in the early part of his career, he was seen as the lesser of a tag team (Legacy) including Ted DiBiase Jr., before going on to find mild success on a solo run which included the cult favorite incarnation of his character “Dashing” Cody Rhodes. A few more gimmick tweaks here and there – and a largely enjoyable tag team run with brother, Dustin – would ultimately lead to Cody leaving the WWE to forge his own path on the independent circuit before joining up with The Bullet Club and then eventually becoming a co-founder of The Elite.
Not many superstars in the WWE can say they played a part in the founding of WWE’s closest competitor in the world of professional wrestling, but Cody Rhodes can – he was a founding father of All Elite Wrestling alongside his former stablemates in The Elite and AEW owner, Tony Khan – and it is unquestionable that, among the current generation of professional wrestlers, Cody is one of the most important of them all. Since shockingly leaving AEW behind and returning to former pastures in the early part of 2022, Cody has been on a very enjoyable run which included a match of the year candidate match against Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell – where Cody memorably and visibly wrestled with a torn pectoral muscle. Having now undergone surgery and returned with such a crucial triumph at Royal Rumble, it is safe to say that there are big things in store for Cody Rhodes this year and his victory tonight is only the beginning. Watch out for Cody in 2023!
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