For the second year in a row, Cody Rhodes has won the Men’s Royal Rumble – breaking a 26-year WWE streak in the process!
Rhodes entered the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble at #15 and once again managed to outlast every other entrant to secure his spot in the main event of WrestleMania 40. In doing so, Rhodes became the first person in 26 years to win two back-to-back Royal Rumble matches – following in the footsteps of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan.
Rhodes last eliminated CM Punk, who entered his first televised WWE match in over a decade at #27, to win the 30-man contest. Punk looked to have the victory secured after incapacitating Rhodes with a Go To Sleep and teased another. Rhodes countered, however, and managed to throw the returning star out of the ring to get the win.
After the match, Rhodes didn’t waste any time making it clear who he’d use his opportunity against on The Grandest Stage Of Them All. During his post-match celebration, Rhodes began pointing and shouting at Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who was watching the match alongside Paul Heyman, in the rafters – indicating Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns II is on the horizon.
DO THE WORK.
FINISH THE STORY.@CodyRhodes just won the Men's #RoyalRumble Match for the second year in a row! The American Nightmare has his sights set on @WWERomanReigns as the Road to #WrestleMania is underway! pic.twitter.com/RkHT2oAsLT— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2024
At the press conference following the show, Cody Rhodes confirmed his intention to “finish the story” by once again challenging Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
Discussing Roman Reigns, Hulk Hogan has acknowledged The Tribal Chief.
Who Else Entered The Men’s Royal Rumble Alongside Cody Rhodes?
The 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble featured various surprise entrants and returns. Most notably, Andrade returned to the promotion following his recent departure from AEW; Pat McAfee made a surprise return both as a commentator as well as a short-lived entrant in the men’s match itself; and NXT’s Bron Breakker & Carmelo Hayes also made surprise entries in the match.