Cody Rhodes Hits Back At False Reports Over AEW Exit
Cody Rhodes mentioned his AEW run while talking about the end of the Royal Rumble where he battled CM Punk.
Going into the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match, the two biggest favorites to win were CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. Their terrific promo segment on the final Raw before the Rumble set them up for a big confrontation in the Rumble match.
It likely didn’t come as a surprise to most viewers that the Men’s Rumble match came down to Cody and Punk as the final two men in the match. Their exchange lasted for several minutes as each man countered the other’s big moves. Punk went for a GTS, Cody slipped out of it and managed to eliminate Punk to win the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row.
In 2022, Cody Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 after six hours out of the company. Starting in 2019, Cody was an Executive Vice President and co-founder of All Elite Wrestling. After his three-year deal was up there, he decided to go back to WWE.
At the post-Royal Rumble press conference, Cody was asked about how he didn’t face CM Punk while the two men worked there while talking about his history with Punk. Cody also brought up his AEW exit and how some people have created a false narrative about why Cody left AEW.
“It’s funny that we meet back here. When we were in AEW I thought we would encounter one another there and it never happened for whatever reason. I think both him and I had different personal experiences.”
“Don’t believe anything that Wade Keller put out about why I left [AEW]. The truth is nobody knows, that man does, but nobody knows, it’s a personal thing. And probably a personal thing for Punk, that happens, people come, people go, it’s not a huge thing.”
“But to see [Punk] tonight and to see Miz and to see Kofi, those were my guys. The first OVW show I walked into, Brent Albright vs. CM Punk was the main event and Punk was like running the whole show, he made me set up the ring.”
“Sometimes you see another person who you admire and respect to stop looking at you as the kid and look at you and see who you are now and I think tonight he got to see who I am now and that means a lot to me. He’s amazing, [the match] could have gone either way. I look forward to what he does in WWE.”
Cody Rhodes Ready For WrestleMania Rematch With Roman Reigns
Since Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row, he will get to challenge one of WWE’s two male World Champions at WrestleMania. While Cody has a lot of respect for World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, the “American Nightmare” has made it clear he’s coming for Roman Reigns and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
For Cody, it will be his chance to beat Reigns for the coveted WWE Championship one year after failing at WrestleMania 39 when Solo Sikoa got involved in the match.
While the Reigns-Rhodes WrestleMania 40 match is likely, it’s not official yet. Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host WrestleMania 40 on April 6th and April 7th at WWE’s biggest show of the year.
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