Triple H discloses the reason behind booking Cody Rhodes to win the 2024 Royal Rumble

Cody Rhodes' Royal Rumble win complicated matters for The Rock's potential match against Roman Reigns.

Triple H discloses the reason behind booking Cody Rhodes to win the 2024 Royal Rumble

Triple H and Cody Rhodes (via 411MANIA)

Cody Rhodes finally finished his story when he defeated Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL. However, after losing in his first attempt at the previous year’s WrestleMania, his road to redemption started at the 2024 Royal Rumble. The American Nightmare won his second Royal Rumble match in a row and challenged The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania.

This win came at a time when The Rock was rumored to face Roman Reigns at the Show of Shows. In the recently released documentary ‘WrestleMania XL: Behind The Curtain,’ Triple H stated that Cody Rhodes needed to win the namesake 30-man event; otherwise, it would have derailed his momentum and damaged his credibility as the top star.

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Moreover, Hunter and some of the creative heads were skeptical about the main event at that point. Therefore, they decided to book Rhodes as the winner of the 2024 Royal Rumble and assess the atmosphere among wrestling fans. It all turned out in favor of the current Undisputed WWE Champion, as fans rejected the idea of The Rock facing Reigns at WrestleMania XL.

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My gut was that if Cody fails, that damages him. We gotta have him win the Rumble and see what the reaction is, and then go from there.
Triple H in the WrestleMania XL: Behind The Curtain documentary

The former Legacy member ended up winning the title at WrestleMania XL and has been a fighting champion ever since. After retaining the title against the likes of AJ Styles and Logan Paul, Rhodes now has a new task at hand. Enraged by The Bloodline’s shenanigans, he, along with Randy Orton and Kevin Owens, will face the dominant group in a 6-man tag team match at Money in the Bank.

Roman Reigns’ initial reaction to The Rock replacing Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL

After the former Stardust won the 2024 Royal Rumble, he chose Reigns as his opponent for the Showcase of the Immortals. However, on the February 2 episode of SmackDown, he backed out and introduced The Brahma Bull as his new opponent. The Tribal Chief expressed his initial opinions on the decision.

Roman Reigns, The Rock, and Cody Rhodes
Roman Reigns, The Rock, and Cody Rhodes (via Wrestling News and WWE)

The former Shield member felt that the idea of him going against his cousin at WrestleMania was cool. He stated that fans had been wanting to see this fight for a long time. Reigns seemed genuinely excited about delivering the match as per the WWE Universe’s highest expectations.

It’s cool because our fans have been clamoring for this for a long time. So, it’s good to be able to give them something that they’re looking forward to. It’s good to deliver on something.
Roman Reigns on the WrestleMania XL: Behind The Curtain Documentary

Ultimately, they had to scrap their plans because of the fan outrage over not putting Rhodes in the main event. Rocky had one of the most iconic heel turns in recent memory when he slapped the 39-year-old star and joined The Bloodline. Now that Cody’s story is finished, WWE could potentially build towards the match between the cousins for WrestleMania 41.

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