Cody Rhodes Returns To Raw, Reveals HUGE World Title Plans

American Nightmare makes intentions clear after winning at WrestleMania 38.

by Scott Carlson
Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

Cody Rhodes needed only a few minutes to clearly position himself as a top-tier guy in WWE Monday night, staking out his intentions to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

The American Nightmare opened Raw to a thunderous ovation and recounted how he remained silent for weeks as a free agent while the rumor mill worked overdrive, including speculation that it was a tough decision for Cody to return to the company he left in 2016.

Rhodes used a photo of his father at Madison Square Garden in 1977 holding the then-WWWF Heavyweight Championship to paint a picture of why he returned to WWE. Cody said he learned at age 8 that Dusty didn't actually win the title that night and vowed at that young age to capture the title and present it to his father. Although he never had that opportunity before Dusty passed away, Cody said that while he couldn't present it to the American Dream, he could put it around the waist of the American Nightmare.

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Cody then pledged to win the title for his dad... so he really can't fail here, can he? Throughout the promo, Cody got choked up talking about Dusty, making it abundantly clear that winning WWE's top prize is extremely important to him.

In one fell swoop, Cody gave himself a reason and purpose for returning, and forced himself into the conversation at the top of the card. That was a pretty deft move, though whether it works will depend on how he's booked in the weeks ahead. But on his first night post-WrestleMania, this was a success.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.