Fans were delighted when Cody Rhodes made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38, serving as Vince McMahon’s hand-picked opponent for Seth Rollins. Rhodes immediately added star power to WWE Raw, and it appeared he would be heavily featured going forward.
However, ahead of his rematch with Seth Rollins at WWE Hell in a Cell, Cody Rhodes suffered a torn pectoral muscle. While he was able to defeat Seth Rollins at the premium live event, he addressed the crowd the next night on Raw and was written off television with another attack from Rollins.
Cody Rhodes hasn’t been seen live on WWE programming since June, but on the December 26th episode of WWE Raw, he appeared in a video interview segment where he had the following to say:
“I would like to pick up right where I left off. A lot of things have happened in my life, not just the injury, not just what I did while I was away and my exit, but the birth of my daughter. I can’t help but think about the little kid who showed up at 4400 Shepherdsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky and wanted to be a pro wrestler and told everyone how big his plans were and didn’t have any idea of the the price that needed to be paid for what I was asking.
I can say this with confidence and not arrogance, I have paid the price. It’s not a sport where your tenure earns you anything, it’s what you’ve done for me lately. And even though I wasn’t present for a good chuck of the year, what I was able to do, I think really did register with a lot of the WWE Universe. And I want to pick up right where I left off, right back in that little kids shoes, who had the biggest dreams because in this time that we’re in, I have an opportunity at making that happen.
I’m being incredibly vague here, I get it, but I think anyone who is a fan of what we do can read between the lines. There is one thing that I came back for specifically, one thing. Again, a torn pec couldn’t stop me, I couldn’t name anything that can stop me, it has to be done, it needs to be done, and I wanna get it done.” (h/t Inside the Ropes)
Dave Meltzer Says Cody Rhodes’ WWE Return Will “Absolutely Not Be A Surprise”
Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that while he initially thought Cody Rhodes’ WWE return would be a surprise at the upcoming Royal Rumble, that is obviously no longer the case as his return is being built up on television.
“So I had always figured that Cody Rhodes return would be a surprise at the Royal Rumble, but it is absolutely not going to be. They’re going to they’re doing a multipart series, building up his return. So there you go. He’s evidently slotted in a high place at Wrestlemania.” (h/t NoDQ.com)
According to one recent report, there were internal pitches for Cody Rhodes to face John Cena at WrestleMania 39, but those plans haven’t been discussed since Triple H came into power.