Months of speculations turned out to be true as Cody Rhodes emerged as the winner of the Men’s Royal Rumble 2023 matchup. Entering the match as the 30th seed, he eliminated GUNTHER in the last spot to secure the win and punch his ticket to the main event of Wrestlemania 39.
Apart from eliminating GUNTHER, he also toppled the likes of Braun Strowman, Austin Theory, Dominik Mysterio, and Logan Paul over the top rope to pull out the career-best performance at Royal Rumble 2023 and secure five eliminations, in total.
Wrestlemania 39: Roman Reigns To Defend His Title Against This WWE LEGEND (Not The Rock)?
Rhodes had been away from in-ring action since June 2022 after injuring himself in a brawl just a few days ahead of the scheduled Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins. The American Nightmare still competed in the main event of Hell in a Cell despite that injury and won it. Then on June 9, he underwent surgery to go into the shelves for more than six months.
Rhodes declared Rumble entry in advance
On the January 16 edition of WWE Raw, Rhodes appeared in a video promo to declare that he was going to be in the 30-man Royal Rumble 2023 edition. Now that he had secured the win at The Rumble, it’s likely that he will be competing against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 which takes place in Los Angeles, California at the SoFi Stadium on April 1 and April 2.
As for the surprise entrants of the men’s Royal Rumble 2023 match; WWE Hall of Famer Booker T (21), Edge (24) and Logan Paul (29) entered the fray to excite the fans present at the Alamodome in San Antonio. However, none of them were able to feature in the final 5.
Royal Rumble 2023 entrants and elimination list
1. Gunther (29th elimination by Cody Rhodes)
2. Sheamus (21st elimination by Gunther)
3. The Miz (1st elimination by Sheamus)
4. Kofi Kingston (4th elimination by Gunther)
5. Johnny Gargano (14th elimination by Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor)
6. Xavier Woods (3rd elimination by Gunther)
7. Karrion Kross (2nd elimination by Drew McIntyre)
8. Chad Gable (7th elimination by Brock Lesnar)
9. Drew McIntyre (22nd elimination by Gunther)
10. Santos Escobar (5th elimination by Brock Lesnar)
11. Angelo Dawkins (6th elimination by Brock Lesnar;)
12. Brock Lesnar (8th elimination by Bobby Lashley)
13. Bobby Lashley (11th elimination by Seth “Freakin” Rollins)
14. Baron Corbin (9th elimination by Seth “Freakin” Rollins)
15. Seth “Freakin” Rollins (27th elimination by Logan Paul)
16. Otis (12th elimination by Drew McIntyre and Sheamus)
17. Rey Mysterio (10th elimination but never entered the match)
18. Dominik Mysterio (23rd elimination by Cody Rhodes)
19. Elias (13th elimination by Drew McIntyre and Sheamus)
20. Finn Bálor (18th elimination by Edge)
21. Booker T (15th elimination by Gunther)
22. Damian Priest (17th elimination by Edge)
23. Montez Ford Raw (16th elimination by Damian Priest)
24. Edge (19th elimination by Finn Balor)
25. Austin Theory (26th elimination by Cody Rhodes)
26. Omos (20th elimination by Braun Strowman)
27. Braun Strowman (24th elimination by Cody Rhodes)
28. Ricochet (25th elimination by Austin Theory)
29. Logan Paul (28th elimination by Cody Rhodes)
30. Cody Rhodes (Royal Rumble 2023 Winner)
