WWE Royal Rumble 2023: 10 Things That Must Happen

2. Cody Rhodes Experiences More Heartbreak

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Cody Rhodes
WWE

Alexa, play anything by Coldplay.

Sadness will be in the air at Royal Rumble following the happy high of Cody Rhodes' emotional return. It feels just a bit too obvious to have Cody win the match and challenge Roman Reigns though. Sorry, 'American Nightmare' fans, but that gets right in the way of the brilliant in-fighting between Bloodline members.

Rhodes' time will come, but he shouldn't stroll back into view and win in San Antonio. Every truly great babyface needs bucketloads of strife to work through. Cody has already had some of that due to a nasty pec injury that forced him to miss out on the second half of 2022, but he's about to experience some more heartache.

WWE must get through Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn before they even think about Cody challenging. A Rumble triumph and subsequent 'Mania challenge would totally encroach on another blistering piece of business that's right there in front of creative.

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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.