Days After Royal Rumble Triumph, Cody Rhodes Discloses Randy Orton’s Secret Role in Achieving His Years-Old Dream: ‘I Kept Thinking About Him Last Night..’

Cody Rhodes got one step closer to realizing his dream of winning the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble. The former AEW star made his return from an injury he suffered in June last year, to win the Men’s Royal Rumble match. With this Rhodes punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania Hollywood.

Even before entering the Rumble, many fans believed Rhodes was a hot favorite to win the match. This was a massive turnaround from his last WWE stint, where he was often an afterthought at the Royal Rumble match. The closest he came to winning the match was in 2009 when was part of the final three men before being eliminated by Triple H. Orton would win the match by dumping The Game outside.

After his stunning comeback and victory at the Royal Rumble Rhodes mentioned how seeing Orton win the Rumble over a decade ago, lit a fire under his belly.

Cody Rhodes said he thought about Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble

When Cody Rhodes first arrived on the scene in WWE, things looked promising for the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes. After being in the mid-card for a while, WWE aligned him and Ted Dibiase Jr. with Randy Orton as part of ‘The Legacy’ faction. This allowed Rhodes to hover around the main event but he couldn’t break through.

Speaking on the ‘IMPAULSIVE’ podcast with Logan Paul, Rhodes said that the Royal Rumble was always his favorite match. Rhodes recalled the 2009 match and said how he took the “bullet” and was eliminated by Triple H, before Orton won the match.

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“The American Nightmare” continued, “And I remember being in the ring and looking at him. And he’s doing the sign point, pyros going off and I thought I want to be that.” The former Intercontinental Champion then said it took him many “excursions” and “detours” before he finally fulfilled his desire to win the Royal Rumble match. Moreover, he said, “I kept thinking about Randy last night, which is weird but I was. I was thinking about him.” He also said it felt good to finally get over the finishing line.

Roman Reigns stands between Cody Rhodes and history

Cody Rhodes will finally have his shot at glory when he will take on Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania Hollywood. ‘The Tribal Chief’ who is on a record-breaking run as champion now stands between Rhodes and his quest to win the top prize in sports entertainment.

The fact that both stars represent legendary wrestling families only adds to the intrigue of this marquee match. Roman Reigns has been WWE’s biggest star for the past few years and has established himself as a bonafide main eventer. Cody Rhodes made his name as a top-tier star in AEW. This will be a chance to complete his redemption and a win over a star like Reigns will show the faith the company has in him.

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Fans cannot wait to see what goes down when the ‘Head of the Table’ squares off against ‘The American Nightmare’ on ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All.’