WWE hasn't been the same ever since Roman Reigns got his hands on the top two prizes in the company. All his opponents have fallen to him in pursuit of his gold, but fans believe that Cody Rhodes may be the only one who can dethrone him.
The American Nightmare has been out of action to recover from a torn pectoral injury ever since his extraordinary match at Hell in a Cell against Seth Rollins. But vignettes of Rhodes regarding his comeback have started to air, leading the WWE Universe to believe a surprise return will occur at the Royal Rumble.
Rhodes has stated his grand plans to win the WWE Championship and has hinted at a match with Roman Reigns down the line. However, Xero News has reported that the Grandson of a Plumber may not be winning his dream prize anytime soon and stated that there are no plans to have him win, at least until SummerSlam.
Talks of Cody going INTO 2024 as champ but this could be done on the last show of the year.
— Xero News (@NewsXero) January 13, 2023
Original plans had Cody not winning a belt this year.
Belief is still he wont win until summerslam at the earliest.
The belief amongst fans right now is that if The Rock is not available to show up for WrestleMania 39, then Cody Rhodes could be the perfect opponent to challenge the Tribal Chief. We'll have to wait until Rhodes comes back to see what the next creative direction will be for him and if it will lead to a match against Roman Reigns down the line.
Former WWE manager speaks on Cody Rhodes dethroning Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39
Veteran WWE manager Dutch Mantell spoke about the possibility of Cody Rhodes returning to challenge Roman Reigns at the Grandest Stage of Them All this year.
Recently, RAW and Smackdown have started airing vignettes of Cody Rhodes showcasing glimpses of his Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins and the aftermath. The vignettes may signal a return to the ring sometime soon for the American Nightmare, especially with the Royal Rumble closing in.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell talked about the second-generation superstar potentially returning to dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. He stated that the pectoral injury to Cody Rhodes has made him an even bigger deal in WWE and has elevated his stock amongst the fans as a true babyface.
"These are touching vignettes they're doing on him. He's got Dusty in there, he got hurt. So he's not just winning, he's winning for everybody else. He is what you call a white meat babyface and they could really get some heat on him. I think Cody's worked his b*tt off. I had fear first when I heard he was coming, that was with the old regime. He would hit it hot for a month and all of a sudden it would just tell off. Getting hurt probably did him a favor." [19:45 - 20:26]
"That spoils the Wrestlemania deal."
— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) January 7, 2023
In our recent episode of 'SmackTalk' with @Kevkellam, former #WWE booker @DirtyDMantell discusses the situation if #RomanReigns lost any of his titles before #WrestleMania.
Full episode: https://t.co/izfKDHdGSw#CodyRhodes #TheRock #TripleH pic.twitter.com/K4MpfzZJ3p