For months now, Cody Rhodes’ return has been speculated to happen at WWE Royal Rumble 2023, and now that has officially been announced. The former Intercontinental Champion officially declared his entry into the upcoming 30-Man Royal Rumble Match during the latest episode of WWE Raw.
In a vignette aired on Raw, Rhodes made it clear that he’s coming for The Tribal Chief’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Being one of the favorites to emerge to be the winner of the Royal Rumble 2023 match, chances are high that WWE could legit be setting up for a main event match at Wrestlemania 39 between Rhodes and the champion Roman Reigns.
Rhodes stated the following during the third and final Road To Recovery video on this week’s Raw,
“Since I came back at WrestleMania [last year], I have made it crystal clear what I want,” Rhodes said in the video. “At the Royal Rumble, I’m back!”
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Rhodes return hinted by sources way ahead of time
Fightful Select’s recent report confirmed that Rhodes returned to in-ring training in December, nearly six months after undergoing surgery to repair his torn pectoral muscle suffered at Hell in a Cell premium live event last June. The source also noted that Rhodes handpicked WWE NXT superstars Joe Gacy and Carmelo Hayes to help him in training on his path to Royal Rumble 2023.
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Originally, Rhodes was written off WWE television he was ambushed by Seth Rollins on June 6 episode, two nights later after their epic match inside Hell in a Cell. A fourth match against Seth Rollins was thereby rumored but he further mentioned that it was “not on his radar,” and that he was solely focused on winning WWE’s top world titles.
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 PLE Match Card
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 premium live event takes place, Saturday, January 28 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The current match card for the show is as follows,
– Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
– Pitch Black Match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
– Raw Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss (stipulation TBD by Bliss)
– Men’s Royal Rumble Match: Rey Mysterio, GUNTHER, Baron Corbin, Kofi Kingston, Ricochet, Santos Escobar, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley, Omos, Cody Rhodes, and 19 Superstars TBA
– Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, Candice LaRae, Rhea Ripley, and 26 Superstars TBA
