Cody Rhodes was the first WWE star to declare for the 2024 Royal Rumble

Cody Rhodes was the first WWE star to declare for the 2024 Royal Rumble next month. Many fans are rooting for him to win the event again and to finish his story. However, his current rival may ensure that The American Nightmare would have to halt his aspirations once more.

Since returning to the Stamford-based promotion in 2022, Cody Rhodes has been trying to finish his story by winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. He had his chance by winning the Royal Rumble 2023 but failed to defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. The American Nightmare will try to revisit the story by entering next year’s Rumble match again, but Shinsuke Nakamura may prevent this.

As noted before, Shinsuke attacked Cody Rhodes as they couldn’t finish their story, but Nakamura plans to finish his before his rival. When the duo faced each other in the previous RAW episode, The King of Strong Style left their rivalry open by misting Rhodes.

The Japanese star could attack Rhodes in the weeks leading up to the 2024 Royal Rumble and “injure” Cody, preventing the latter from entering the Rumble match and even taking his spot if he fails during the qualifying matches in the coming weeks.

In this manner, it could also give way for another favorite to win the match, CM Punk. It has been noted that the Straight Edge star has begun a feud with Seth Rollins. Without Cody in the picture, Punk could win the match and, finally, headline WrestleMania with the World Heavyweight Champion.

As for Cody, he could still have a chance to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Rhodes could eventually settle his differences with Shinsuke and join the Elimination Chamber match in February.

Cody nearly defeated Roman at WrestleMania 39

Several fans and professionals were outraged when The Tribal Chief retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at this year’s WrestleMania, especially since The Bloodline interfered. However, another Hall of Famer believed it was the right path.

While on WWE’s The Bump, Mick Foley stated that he would love to see Cody back in the main event picture as it was the picture ending to his story. While he may not have earned the WWE title from Roman, Rhodes gained something more meaningful by winning the respect of the naysayers.

When is WWE Royal Rumble 2024?

Royal Rumble 2024 will occur at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on January 27, 2024. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes have already declared themselves for the Men’s Rumble match, and more will come to fruition as the event nears.

It would be interesting to see what the Road to WrestleMania will look like as the weeks progress.