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Leading up to the 2022 WWE Royal Rumble, an image emerged online appearing to show Cody Rhodes arriving in St. Louis for the big event. There had been much speculation that Vince McMahon's promotion was opening the "forbidden door" once again.
The company had already announced that IMPACT Wrestling's Mickie James was entering the Women's Royal Rumble match. Days later, it was reported that WWE also had plans for a surprise appearance in the Men's contest. Fans around the world tried to guess who the entrant might be, with names ranging from Moose to Chris Jericho.
Could Cody Rhodes really have returned to WWE for the first time since 2016 in the Men's Rumble match? Of course, at the time, Cody was contracted to All Elite Wrestling, and it seemed very far-fetched that an appearance would be possible. Nonetheless, this image of him arriving in St. Louis did the rounds.
In the end, no such appearance happened in the Men's Royal Rumble match, instead fans were treated to surprise appearances from the likes of Bad Bunny, Shane McMahon and Brock Lesnar - who had just lost his WWE Championship earlier in the night to Bobby Lashley.
So was Cody Rhodes really flying into St. Louis for the 2022 Royal Rumble?
The answer is no. The image that surfaced was in fact photoshopped and this was confirmed by Rhodes himself on Twitter the day after the event took place.
Is Cody Rhodes returning to WWE?
In a shocking development on February 15, days after the Photoshop incident, AEW confirmed that Cody Rhodes had left the promotion. Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful reported that he had left and that he could well be on his way back to WWE.
What a jaw-dropping plot twist, after speculation that Cody would be appearing at the 2022 Royal Rumble, he in fact could well be heading back to Vince McMahon's company for the long term.
All Elite Wrestling posted a graphic with quotes from Tony Khan, who praised Cody for all his hard work and help with the company.
Brandi Rhodes, Cody's wife, will also be departing the promotion. Something has clearly drastically changed in recent times, given that both of them also held high positions behind the scenes.
The American Nightmare's last match in WWE was on an episode of Superstars against Zack Ryder on May 16, 2016. A new chapter could now be written on the road to WrestleMania, hot on the heels of the news revealed today.
Would you like to see Cody Rhodes back in WWE? Let us know in the comments below!
