What is Cody Rhodes' WWE Royal Rumble story?

The Royal Rumble is one of the most important shows for WWE each year, and the Rumble match is the highlight of the show. Legends have been born with heroic performances in the match, while there are also memorable moments.

One such moment happened with AEW star Cody Rhodes, who had an unforgettable experience in the Rumble when he came face-to-face with The Undertaker.

Rhodes, the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, took part in his very first Royal Rumble match in 2008 entering at No.13. In the 23 minutes that he was in the match, he got to mix it up with some legends of the pro wrestling business, including The Undertaker.

While in the ring with The Phenom, he took a chance to land a few punches on the WWE icon and was pleasantly surprised at what happened after that.

"I feel the camera on me and I can see myself on the screen. I see Undertaker in the corner. I thought....f**k it. I'm gonna do it. I go over and I hit this man as hard as I've hit anyone in the back of the head. I felt him stop. [He does the slow head turn]. I'm the bad guy now. I'm [backing away]. All of a sudden he goozles me. I think I'm going up. He says, 'kick me in the knee.' I kick him in the knee, he lets his hand go. And he goes, 'dropkick me.'

"I jump up, dropkick him, he takes a bump! You can see... I didn't know what to do. The goal is to get the guy out of the match, but I'm not gonna pick him up. So I just go over to the corner and start fake punching somebody. But man, after that, Taker was God to me," said Rhodes.

Rhodes believes that everything about The Undertaker is giving back to the pro wrestling business and expressed his love and admiration for The Deadman.

Cody Rhodes' performances in the Royal Rumble

In the aforementioned 2008 Rumble, Rhodes lasted 23 minutes and was eventually eliminated by Triple H. The following year, he did much better, entering at No.15 and lasting 37 minutes. In the final three of that year's Rumble, he was eliminated again by The Game.

At Royal Rumble 2010, Rhodes lasted under 10 minutes, eliminated by Shawn Michaels, but on a better showing in the 2012 Rumble, making six eliminations and lasting a whopping 41 minutes.

The next year, he was eliminated by eventual winner John Cena after making four eliminations.

In 2014, he was taken out by his brother Goldust (now known as Dustin Rhodes in AEW), while in 2015, he entered the Rumble as Stardust but was thrown over the top rope by Roman Reigns, who went on to win the Rumble.

2016 was Rhodes' last Royal Rumble match as a WWE Superstar, where he entered at No.14, lasted 14 minutes, and made zero eliminations.