How John Cena Outshone Cody Rhodes At WWE Royal Rumble

John Cena was back in action at the Royal Rumble and that meant good news for WWE but bad news for Cody Rhodes.

John Cena is on the quest to win the 17th world title of his career in his final year as an in-ring competitor. Cena entered the Royal Rumble looking to book his place in the main event of WrestleMania but he had to make do with being a runner-up as Jey Uso shocked everyone by winning the Rumble match.

The show also saw Cody Rhodes retain his Undisputed WWE Championship in a brutal ladder match against Kevin Owens. Owens was Alabama Slammed through a ladder which allowed Rhodes to win the match.

But at the merch table, Cody Rhodes took an increasingly rare loss.

John Cena Tops Cody Rhodes

Fightful Select has reported on merchandise sales at the Royal Rumble and while Rumble and company-themed merch was the top seller as usual, it was John Cena who topped the charts in terms of WWE Superstars. This marks a big change as Cody Rhodes has led in sales for most of the last few years.

Rhodes had to make do with playing second-fiddle to Cena this time around. Jey Uso was next on the list with orders for his merchandise said to have sky-rocketed online after his Rumble success. The report noted that it was hinted that Roman Reigns rounded out the top five. Alexa Bliss merch was said to have also “performed well” on her return to the company after two years out of action.