In the shadow of the hustle and bustle surrounding the final downfall of scandal mogul Vince McMahon, the wrestling empire WWE celebrated the first highlight of the year – and gave the fans a finale with historical dimensions.
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The 2024 Royal Rumble at the Tampa Bay Rays’ MLB Stadium ended with a scenario that had never happened before this century: For the first time since 1998, there was a title defense in the 30-man battle. Cody Rhodes secured a spot in the main event of the WrestleMania 40 megashow by ultimately eliminating returning CM Punk. (NEWS: All news about WWE)
WWE Royal Rumble: Cody Rhodes challenges winner Roman Reigns
After an emotional victory celebration, the son of the late legend Dusty Rhodes immediately made it clear which champion he had in his sights: He pointed into the skybox to the Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who has reigned for over 3 1/2 years, so the big rematch is taking place in Philadelphia between Reigns and Rhodes, who was cheated out of his expected victory at the last WrestleMania in Los Angeles. As expected, Reigns defended his title at the Rumble in a four-way match with Randy Orton, AJ Styles and LA Knight.
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It was the temporary completion of a long-term story that began in spring 2022 with Rhodes’ comeback at WrestleMania 38. Two years later, everything seems to be heading towards the coronation mass of the 38-year-old Rhodes.
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Since his return from competitor AEW – which he co-founded in 2018/19 after leaving WWE out of frustration over a lack of prospects – the “American Nightmare” has become a key player in the market leader. The story of his hunt for a big WWE title, which he and his father Dusty were never granted, is the big leitmotif (“Finish the Story”).
Speculation and suggestions that there could be a sensational return of megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson against Reigns at WrestleMania instead did not come true at the Rumble.
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After Hulk Hogan in 1991, Shawn Michaels in 1996 and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 1998, Rhodes is the fourth star to win two Rumbles in a row – which gives an idea of the level at which the WWE officials around “Triple H” Paul Levesque are at See the mature Rhodes as a top star now.
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Rhodes entered the Rumble – which started effectively with a duel between rival brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso at start numbers 1 and 2 – in 15th position and stayed in the race until the end.
Unlike the women, there were few surprises among the men – the biggest one, which didn’t come completely out of nowhere: The Mexican Andrade, who WWE also brought back from AEW, entered the race with number 4. The husband of the long-term injured Charlotte Flair had his AEW contract expire at the turn of the year.
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Also worth mentioning was the appearance of top talent Bron Breakker, the son of Hall of Famer Rick Steiner. The lightning-fast and powerful ex-NFL footballer – who wore a ring outfit from the old Steiner Brothers days in honor of his father Rick and Uncle Scott – was able to show off a strong performance, eliminating four established stars, including Jimmy Uso and 2.20- Meter giant Omos.
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German WWE star Ludwig Kaiser – son of post-war catching legend Axel Dieter – made his Rumble debut with number 12, but was then eliminated by league veteran Kofi Kingston.
Final exchange between Rhodes and CM Punk
In the end, the field of participants narrowed down to four big names: Rhodes, Punk, who returned last fall after leaving AEW, Austrian phenomenon Gunther and former WWE champion Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre, who may be facing a WWE exit, fell victim to Punk, who was most recently presented as a nemesis, while Rhodes eliminated Gunther, whom he had last eliminated, in a mirror image of Rumble 2023.
What followed was a well-written exchange of blows between the top favorites Punk and Rhodes, in which a staged attack of arrogance ended up being Punk’s undoing.
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Punk provoked Rhodes with the derogatory remark “I didn’t wait ten years to lose to Dusty’s kid”. The provocative belittlement led to Cody, with anger in his stomach, countering Punk’s elimination attempt and throwing him out himself.
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Apparently Punk is still scheduled for a big WrestleMania match against the ailing world champion Seth Rollins. However, the fact that the victory went to Rhodes instead of Punk underlined the internal hierarchy as to which of the two title duels was more important.
“Tribal Chief” Reigns has reigned in WWE since the summer of 2020, making it the longest title reign since Hulk Hogan’s first in the 80s. Now, however, it would be rather surprising if Rhodes did not take part in the anniversary WrestleMania on April 6th and 7th in the Super Bowl Stadium in Philly.