Cody Rhodes made his triumphant return at last night’s Royal Rumble.
Entering at #30, Rhodes spent minutes in the match before ultimately winning the whole shebang. He would contribute to the eliminations of Dominik Mysterio, Austin Theory, Braun Strowman, Logan Paul and finally, Gunther, to punch his ticket to WrestleMania.
Some fans may find it incredible that this time last year, he was facing Sammy Guevera on AEW Dynamite for the TNT Championship. A lot has changed in the last year for “The American Nightmare,” including his boss, whom Rhodes addressed after the event’s conclusion.
Cody Rhodes Admits He Sees Triple H As A Mentor Despite AEW Shots
At the Royal Rumble Post-Show Press Conference, Cody Rhodes spoke of Triple H and the occasional jabs that “The Game” has taken at All Elite Wrestling.
“I smashed the throne, I took a lot of shots, always light-hearted, but I think he knew where I was coming from.”
“I was hungry. He’s the one guy, I don’t think he remembers this, but I’ll never forget it. I talked to him in Gorilla when I was really frustrated doing Stardust. I went to walk out, and he said, ‘rattle the cages.'”
“That could have meant a lot of things. ‘Go talk to the writers.’ I took it literally and went out and rattled (the cages) as much as possible. I’m so glad that relationship gets to develop now. Clearly, you guys see how I model my presentation and performance. I’m clearly a massive Triple H fan. I’m glad he’s the coach, and I get to play. I want to play quarterback. I owe him a lot for how he handled my dad. I don’t want him to look at me and see my dad. I want him to look at me and see me.”
“Today, I felt like he saw me. That’s very important. My last name has done a lot of things for me, but we’re at a point in my career where my first name has to do those things as well. It’s off to a great start. Let’s see where we go from here.”
Cody Rhodes is set to main event WrestleMania 39 after winning the 2023 Royal Rumble. He is destined to face Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at the event, but with more than two months to go, anything can happen.
H/T Fightful