Cody Rhodes wins Royal Rumble men's match, eliminates GUNTHER for victory

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Cody Rhodes returned to the WWE ring after being shelved for more than six months due to a torn pectoral he suffered back in June – and made the absolute most of it at the Royal Rumble Saturday.

Rhodes was the 30th and final Royal Rumble entrant and entered with Austin Theory, Seth Rollins, GUNTHER, Braun Strowman, Logan Paul, Dominik Mysterio and Ricochet still in the ring. The deck was stacked against him but he was the freshest wrestler to get into the mix.

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Apr 2, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; Cody Rhodes enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

"The American Nightmare" would eliminate Mysterio, Theory, Strowman and Paul before he would meet GUNTHER for the right to headline WrestleMania. GUNTHER had already been in the match for more than an hour and was on his last legs. He gave a valiant effort to eliminate Rhodes.

Rhodes and GUNTHER would meet in the apron but Rhodes would sneak back into the ring. He would hit the Cody Cutter to try and get GUNTHER over the top rope but that didn’t work. GUNTHER gained the advantage and hit a powerbomb to cut down Rhodes but his own try to eliminate Rhodes didn’t work either.

In the waning moments of the match, Rhodes hit another Cody Cutter and was able to eliminate GUNTHER in the very end.

Gunther of European professional wrestling stable Imperium attends a photocall during the WWE Live Show at Westfalenhalle on November 1, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany. (Marc Pfitzenreuter/Getty Images)

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Rhodes reigned supreme as the 2023 Royal Rumble champion. He will get a shot to either fight for the Universal Championship or the WWE Championship – or potentially both if Reigns remained the undisputed champion by the time WrestleMania rolls around.

He rejoined the company in 2022 after being one of the first pro wrestlers to join All Elite Wrestling. He made his return at WrestleMania in Arlington, Texas. He would defeat Seth Rollins and then go on to beat him again at WrestleMania Backlash.

Apr 2, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; Cody Rhodes enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

After a long career in WWE, Rhodes is on the cusp of a world championship. His wife, Brandi, reacted on Twitter.

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"11 years ago we had a private conversation in a TV hotel parking lot. It was a broken hearted pipe dream void of direction, but filled with hope. There were many setbacks. But now here he is pointing to the WrestleMania sign. LIVE this moment," she tweeted.