10 Early Winners For WWE Royal Rumble 2024
7. Cody Rhodes
No one should ever be winning back-to-back Royal Rumbles unless under very specific story-based circumstances. The Rumble is one of the biggest rubs in wrestling so giving that to the same guy two years on the bounce seems a waste but this all harps back to WWE's decision-making in the main event of this year's WrestleMania.
Reigns' beating Rhodes last April was surprisingly one of the biggest shocks of the year. Everyone was expecting Cody to "finish his story" but it wasn't to be which is why we are here just four months later speculating whether 'The American Nightmare' is on for the two-peat.
As per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Cody vs. Roman rematch is set for the main event of WrestleMania 40. Two options remain. Either give Rhodes consecutive Royal Rumble wins, or have him earn his shot through the Elimination Chamber. While Cody winning a Chamber match would be befitting of his character, WWE are much more likely to want the blockbuster rematch to be off the back of a Royal Rumble win rather than a victory inside the chamber.
Either way, it feels as though the build for the hotly anticipated sequel is CTRL C CTRL V from earlier this year with a different result. Surely, fans get a different result. Surely?