7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Royal Rumble 2023

4. Cody Rhodes’ Moment

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Cody Rhodes
WWE

Sure, this was all-but-set in stone the moment WWE announced his comeback ahead of time, but WWE did a neat job of adding some doubt to Cody Rhodes' win by booking GUNTHER so strongly. His 'Iron Man' performance threatened to upset Cody's destiny.

That destiny is one step closer to being fulfilled.

This year's male Rumble was peppered with plenty of mini-stories and drama which kept the pace up. There are always a few natural lulls, and some may hate the lack of more part-timer/retro surprises, but the full-time roster is good enough to carry things and they did.

Winning this kind of match justifies Rhodes' decision to leave AEW and return to WWE last year. He's had injury struggles, but now he's poised to wrestle the best all-rounder in the industry (Roman Reigns) on the biggest wrestling show of the entire calendar year.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.