Cody Rhodes Returns At WWE WrestleMania 38

The worst kept secret in all of professional wrestling in recent weeks, Cody Rhodes made his return to WWE at last night's first leg of WrestleMania 38.

As many had speculated, and had been reported by various journalists, Rhodes appeared at the Showcase of the Immortals as the mystery Vince McMahon-picked opponent of Seth Rollins.

With Rollins in the ring and waiting to find out who he'd be facing at Night 1 of 'Mania 38, the lights went off at AT&T Stadium before the famed "wrestling has more than one royal family" line hit and the American Nightmare's Kingdom entrance theme started up. For those wondering, Cody is able to still use Downstait's Kingdom song as he owns the rights to that tune.

For Seth, he sold the arrival of Rhodes in fantastic fashion. Initially doing his now-trademark cackle when the former AEW EVP appeared, those chuckles soon turned to a face of utter disdain as Cody made his way to the ring. As for the match itself, it was a brilliant 22-minute back-and-forth between two extremely skilled workers, with Rhodes inevitably picking up the win after hitting three Cross Rhodes in a row - with a few Dusty Rhodes-esque punches and a Bionic Elbow thrown into the mix.

A clearly emotional Cody celebrated post-match, and one has to think this match also meant a lot to Seth Rollins, for he was one of the many who famously sat under the Dusty learning tree in NXT.