ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Cody Rhodes gingerly walked to the dais, his face flushed and littered with welts.
For the second time in as many years, "The American Nightmare" punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania by winning the Royal Rumble match.
When he tossed CM Punk over the top rope Saturday at Tropicana Field, Rhodes became the first man in 26 years to win back-to-back Rumbles, joining the legendary likes of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
"I am the guy and I have been the guy and I am a three-count or a submission away from being the quarterback of the greatest, most prosperous era in the history of sports entertainment," Rhodes said at the post-event news conference.
Rhodes, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, always knew in his heart that he deserved to be a headline attraction, but he wasn't seen that way by WWE brass during his first run with the company from 2006 to 2016.
Only after Rhodes left WWE for New Japan Pro Wrestling and helped form AEW into a competitor did Rhodes reach the main-event scene back at WWE. And when he made his triumphant return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, he did so surrounded by hoopla and fanfare deserving of his talent and popularity.
"There is nobody more dedicated to his craft," said WWE Hall of Famer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who oversees WWE's creative direction as chief content officer. "The respect that he has for this [business] is second to none. ... He's the right person [for his role as one of WWE's top stars]. ... He absolutely is the future of this for all the right reasons."
Rhodes, 38, possesses a unique ability to connect with fans, a trait he surely fine-tuned under the guidance of his father. And that three-count he referred to that stood between himself and face-of-WWE status? He was talking about his defeat to Roman Reigns -- the biggest star in pro wrestling -- at WrestleMania 39.
Before and ever since, he has been on a quest to "finish the story" and win the title his father never could. That top prize belongs to Reigns, who pushed past 1,248 days as the undisputed WWE Universal champion when he defeated LA Knight, Randy Orton and AJ Styles in a fatal four-way Saturday.
And with Rhodes' Royal Rumble victory, he has earned another title shot, whether it comes against Reigns or Seth Rollins, the world heavyweight champion.
"I want to be back in the ring with Roman Reigns," Rhodes said. "And I want to finish the story."
He didn't guarantee that a rematch would come at WrestleMania XL, though, and indicated SummerSlam was a possibility. That comes against The Rock's return to "Raw" earlier this month, where he hinted at a future match with Reigns by mentioning the "Head of the Table." Reigns calls himself "The Tribal Chief" of "The Bloodline" and wears a red lei to the ring, a neckpiece gifted to him by Afa and Sika in 2020 to designate that distinction.
The Rock and Reigns are part of the same Samoan dynasty that has towered over wrestling since the modern WWE's inception in 1982 with Afa and Sika, who became tag-team champs the following year. The Royal Rumble match began Saturday with Reigns' real-life cousins, twins Jimmy and Jey Uso, sharing the ring as the first two entrants. Reigns was also aided during his fatal-four-way win by his cousin Solo Sikoa.
Before the Rumble, The Rock joined the board of directors of TKO Group, the publicly traded company formed last year when Endeavor merged WWE and the UFC. The Hollywood star also received full ownership of the trademark to his famous moniker as part of the appointment. It was also revealed that his new agreement includes a personal services and merchandise agreement, typically the signal of an in-ring return.
The groundwork has been laid for a potential matchup between The Rock and Reigns at WrestleMania XL that would serve as a historic meeting. And the plot thickened Monday on "Raw" when Rhodes was confronted by Rollins -- the man he defeated in his WrestleMania return -- who made the case for Cody to pick him rather than Reigns for a WrestleMania title match.
Rhodes said he would think about Rollins' proposal.
CM Punk shows out at Rumble, but bows out of WrestleMania
Get well soon, CM Punk. ❤️#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/HCFFZVPwuI
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2024
On Saturday, it wasn't lost on Rhodes that it wasn't too long ago that he and CM Punk were headlining in AEW.
The Royal Rumble match was Punk's first on WWE television in 10 years. His final match in WWE before the unceremonious divorce was at the 2014 Rumble. Punk and Rhodes, two men who knew in their heart of hearts that they deserved to be the guy.
"When we were at AEW, I thought we would encounter one another there. And it didn't happen," Rhodes said. "Sometimes you want another person you admire and respect to stop looking at you as the kid and look at you and see who you are now. And I think tonight he got to see who I am now. And that means a lot to me. I look forward to what he does in WWE."
Unfortunately, we won't have that perspective for a while after Punk suffered a torn right triceps during the Rumble match. Punk appeared Monday on "Raw" with his arm in a sling and fought back tears as he revealed he would miss WrestleMania XL.
"I feel a little bit unlucky," said Punk. "My goal and my dream ever since I was a little kid has been to main-event WrestleMania, but maybe it's never going to happen. ... It's a bump in the road. ... I've overcome adversity many times in the past."
And with that, Drew McIntyre emerged and delivered a beatdown -- both mentally and physically -- to presumably send Punk off TV and on his way to rehab another torn triceps (he had surgery to repair the other triceps in 2022 following an injury suffered in AEW).
Punk's final remarks on Monday were that he would aim to headline next year's WrestleMania, but before doing that, he wants revenge on McIntyre.
A return and a debut bolster the women's division
Jade Cargill, the former AEW star, made her WWE debut with a dominant showing in the women's Royal Rumble to kick off the show. She reached the final three before Liv Morgan and Bayley teamed up to eliminate her.
Bayley went on to win, and we could find out Friday if she'll challenge Damage CTRL stablemate IYO Sky -- a storyline that's been building for months -- or Rhea Ripley, the Aussie who will star in her home country at February's Elimination Chamber, where more title shots will be on the line.
"[Bayley] earned her spot to go to WrestleMania and be in a main-event role," Triple H said. "So very excited for her for that because again, she has been sometimes lost in the shuffle." Naomi also made her return. She left WWE in March 2023 along with her former tag-team champion partner Sasha Banks, but she is now primed for a singles run after she entered the Rumble at No. 2 and lasted more than one hour in the ring.
Naomi had been competing in TNA Wrestling, whose current champion, Jordynne Grace, was also a surprise entrant at No. 5.
"I want to thank [TNA] for allowing her to be here and participate in the Royal Rumble," Triple H said. "I thought she had a spectacular showing tonight, she's an amazing talent. It's exciting to just be able to branch out and I'm not going to use all the cliche terms about what door people go through or anything like that because it's stupid and silly but partnerships and opportunities like this come along, for some people, once in a lifetime but I'm glad she had that opportunity, it's well deserved."
Grace, a 27-year-old powerlifter, remains on TNA's roster as its champion. She's currently in the midst of her third title reign. She lasted over 20 minutes in the Rumble and didn't notch any eliminations before Bianca Belair tossed her out of the ring.
Andrade, Breakker primed for strong runs
As the music hit for No. 4, WWE fans witnessed the return of a former favorite. The Mexican luchador was a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble and marked Andrade's return to WWE. A talented in-ring worker who's the real-life husband of WWE star Charlotte Flair, Andrade wrestled for AEW over the past two years after he requested his release from WWE in March 2021.
He was unhappy at how he was being utilized with WWE, but he now finds himself back with the organization that signed him to a developmental deal in 2015. He enjoyed a successful run as NXT Champion and won the U.S. championship on the main roster before it all turned sour.
On Monday, he appeared on "Raw" and "signed" a contract to be part of the show going forward rather than compete on Friday night's "SmackDown."
"Just a phenomenal talent that I cannot wait to see what he can do now in this time," said Triple H on Saturday. "It's the right time. Before -- maybe not, but now it's the right time for him."
Andrade wasn't the only addition. Bron Breakker, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner and a former NXT Champion, appeared in the Rumble and had a strong showing with eliminations of Jimmy Uso, Finn Balor, Ivar and Omos before Dominik Mysterio tossed him over the top rope.
While Andrade chose "Raw," SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis appeared to indicate Breakker would join his program on Fridays.
Breakker has most recently been teaming up with Baron Corbin in the NXT Dusty Rhodes Classic.