Cody Rhodes Confirms He'll Challenge Roman Reigns For WWE Title At WrestleMania 40

Last night, Cody Rhodes competed against 29 other participants in WWE's 2024 Men's Royal Rumble match, entering the fray from the #15 position. After the likes of Drew McIntyre, GUNTHER, and Sami Zayn were eliminated from the field, Rhodes and CM Punk emerged as the final two. Only one could win, though, and after evading a GTS, "The American Nightmare" sent the "The Second City Saint" flying out of the ring to claim the win. During the Royal Rumble post-show press conference, Rhodes was then asked to officially identify the champion he now intends to challenge at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. In response, Rhodes made it clear that he intends to "finish the story" by facing Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

"I feel like everyone knew that [I was going to challenge Reigns] ... All due respect in the world to Seth Rollins. That [world] title gains more prestige every single day, but WrestleMania 39 did happen," Rhodes said, referring to his previous loss to Reigns. "And if you're me, you can't look at that, and you can't run from it. WrestleMania 40, Monday night 'Raw,' SummerSlam, Elimination Chamber – I want to be back in the ring with Roman Reigns and I want to finish the story. I detest the statement now because apparently everyone's got a story. Punk wanted a story, Drew [McIntyre's] got a story, everyone's got a story, but a big part for me, I'm very big on keeping my word. So if I say something silly on TV, but it's a promise, I intend to keep the promise. I don't know if two times is the charm with Roman, we'll see."

Since returning to WWE in 2022, Rhodes has vowed to "finish the story" of being the first member of the Rhodes family to win the WWE Championship. And despite coming up short in his first attempt at WrestleMania 39, victory at the 2024 Royal Rumble has now provided him with another chance to accomplish that goal.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.