Reason Why Cody Rhodes Did Not Win Royal Rumble Revealed

For WWE fans, Cody Rhodes is always a contender to win the Royal Rumble match.

He has done it in the past, winning the 30-man over-the-top rope elimination match in 2023 and 2024.

In the 2026 edition of the premium live event, he entered the bout at #11 and lasted just under 37 minutes, during which he eliminated three other participants.

Rhodes was especially hyped when Jacob Fatu, with whom he is involved in a feud currently, arrived at #27.

They brawled for a while before Fatu threw him over the top rope, but left him there dangling. As The American Nightmare tried to make it back into the ring, Drew McIntyre appeared from the crowd and hit a Claymore Kick, eliminating him.

McIntyre is also part of the 3-way feud with Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu.

Cody Rhodes Was Never Considered For 2026 Royal Rumble Victory

While wrestling fans may see Cody Rhodes as a potential Royal Rumble winner, he was not considered by the WWE to win this time around.

During a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that The American Nightmare was on a different path heading into WrestleMania.

The creative team’s narrative especially changed after he dropped the title to Drew McIntyre on the January 9 episode of SmackDown.

Cody was no longer champion, had to win either Rumble or Chamber. And Cody was never scheduled to win the Rumble because the nature of the storyline was, is that he had to overcome the adversity and not win the Rumble, and then went into the chamber. Similar story to John Cena last year. [H/T: Ringside News]

While Royal Rumble is most certainly the direct way to enter WrestleMania, WWE wanted the 40-year-old to go a different route.

By not having him win the Rumble, the writers can build a storyline around his character of overcoming adversities and ultimately earn his way back as a title contender.

Roman Reigns ultimately won the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble match and picked CM Punk as his WrestleMania opponent.