Royal Rumble: Who Eliminates Cody Rhodes Is Crucial

With the Royal Rumble only a few days away, Cody Rhodes is scheduled to make his second return within a year and is a clear favorite to win the match. Although, is that a little too predictable?

Since Cody Rhodes made his grand return to the WWE at WrestleMania, he has been a favorite for the choice to take the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship away from “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. He started out strong in his return to the WWE with three huge pay-per-view victories over Seth Rollins. However, before his third encounter with Rollins inside a Hell in a Cell, Cody suffered a torn pectoral muscle.

Rhodes fought through his third match with the gruesome injury clear for the world to see. He competed through the match with his chest looking a grotesque purple mess. After going above and beyond expectations to compete in his shape, Cody has spent the last seven months on the shelf. He has endured a long and tough journey back to fighting shape. Now, he is ready to return at the most opportune time.

It was recently announced that Cody will be back in time to compete in the Royal Rumble match. Many have already started speculations back up that Cody Rhodes could be the favorite pick as the winner of this year’s rumble and eventually be the one to dethrone Roman. However, while Cody has had to spend months away recovering, others have worked hard to earn a mention in the conversation.  There’s no doubt that Cody would be an exciting winner, but he’s not the right choice. Although, it would be a good bet that Rhodes will be the “iron man” of this year’s rumble.

Besides Rhodes, a few other names have been mentioned such as The Rock, who seems even more suspicious since recent claims. While the dream match between The Rock and Roman Reigns is intriguing, it would be a bit disappointing to see The Rock win the rumble for similar reasons to Cody. The Royal Rumble should be used as a platform for the next star of the company to break through to the main event picture.

With that being said, we come to another argued name in the discussion. Recently, a new favorite in the Royal Rumble winner talk is Sami Zayn. For the past few months, he has been creating a compelling story with The Bloodline and Roman Reigns. He has fought to make his place in the family and has suddenly crossed a line with the “Tribal Chief.” He would arguably be the best choice to win the rumble and move on to WrestleMania in Hollywood. However, if Cody Rhodes isn’t winning the rumble match, that means somebody has to, of course, eliminate him.

Cody Rhodes made his shocking WWE return at WrestleMania 38 defeating Seth Rollins. He had only six matches televised matches before his injury cost him seven months.

This will ideally be a huge moment of the match that could have implications for Cody’s WrestleMania 39 match. It would make sense for Cody to want to get even with Seth Rollins for his cheap and disgusting assault on his last Raw appearance. However, Rollins has been through some changes since Cody has been away. It would take some sudden chances to make Cody vs Seth 4 work after Seth’s slow-burning babyface turn.

It will most likely be a fresh new face for Cody to face that eliminates him. While Cody has been gone for WWE for years, we have seen the roster grow tremendously and there are multiple choices to feud with Cody Rhodes. However, with Triple H in control of WWE creative, there is only one match that we should get at WrestleMania… Cody Rhodes versus Roderick Strong. This match has been a dream of many fans ever since Cody Rhodes first left the WWE and made a list of wrestlers to wrestle.

As fate would have it, Cody Rhodes made his way out of WWE around the moment that Roderick Strong made his way to NXT. Since then, Cody Rhodes has gone on to achieve nearly everything he put on his list and so much more. He fulfilled his goals and found his way back home in the WWE as a star. On the other side of the story, Roderick Strong has been the backbone of NXT for seven years. He has held championships and was a crucial part of The Undisputed Era. However, while his former stablemates have gone, Strong is still stuck in NXT.

Roderick Strong is arguably the most underrated star signed to the WWE. He is wasting away in NXT when he could easily be thriving on the main roster. The clock is ticking on Strong, who will turn 40 this year, and it is time to give him his time to shine. That may finally become the cause now that Triple H is in charge of WWE creative, he should have a better shot of proving his worth and getting a main roster spot. A shot that should happen this Saturday.

It would be a star-making moment if Roderick is a shock entrant in the rumble match and goes on to eliminate a favorite to win the whole thing. People will have no other choice but to talk about it. Strong instantly gains momentum while Cody benefits by getting the final match on his list. Then everyone else gets to benefit as fans when Rhodes and Strong have a match for the first time ever. You can almost guarantee an instant classic match from both men and they will both benefit by having a stellar match at WrestleMania.