100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

24. The American Nightmare Returns To Make His Mark (2023)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE

Having been out of action for eight months due to a pec tear suffered at Backlash the prior May, it was announced ahead of time that Cody Rhodes would make his return to action at the 2023 Royal Rumble.

Of course, not just did Cody return to the ring, but he’d win the whole thing, entering at #30, scoring five eliminations, and last eliminating Gunther.

Some may question the presentation of Rhodes and Gunther here, with the babyface Cody coming in for a 15-minute stint, in comparison to the villainous Ring General having entered at #1 and put in a mammoth one-hour-and-11-minute shift that stands as an all-timer of a Rumble performance. Regardless, San Antonio’s Alamodome ate it up, and the American Nightmare was on his way to his first WrestleMania main event.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.