38-year-old WWE star speculates on fans turning against Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes is set to return to in-ring action at WWE Royal Rumble 2023. He will be a part of the 30-man match in an attempt to get a world title shot at WrestleMania 39.
While The American Nightmare is one of the favorites, a new name has emerged as a potential winner in the form of Sami Zayn. The Bloodline member is one of the most over stars in WWE and a large number of fans want to see him win the Rumble.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Sami Zayn discussed the possibility of fans turning on Cody Rhodes in the event of The Honorary Uce failing to win the Rumble.
"I don't know if that's true or not. I don't know that. Maybe me and you are looking at a certain point, certain way, because we're kind of like diehards, you know? But I think there's a lot of casual fans are just kind of along for the ride and. I don't think the fans are kind of where they were 5-6 years ago, where they kind of would like revolt. And we're like, no, Daniel Bryan's the guy you're trying to give us, Batista now, well. I don't feel that level of, I don't know, borderline contempt from the audience towards the creative direction. I don't think it's out of place where Daniel Bryan was, I believe, in 2014, where it's like anybody but him is going to be a disaster and it actually was."
Sami Zayn continued to talk about WWE Royal Rumble 2023
Sami Zayn went on to state that whoever ends up winning the Royal Rumble, as long as it's done right, fans will not have contempt for the creative team.
"Is there a possibility of whether it's Cody, whether it's anybody? If it's not done right, there is the possibility of contempt towards whoever that person is. Whether it's Cody, could be anybody. If it's not done right, it could kind of hurt that person. if you follow nothing else but the storyline, it's a layup that I would be in that conversation. What actually ends up happening is, again, it's not my control." (8:08 - 10:32)
Cody is simply not getting booed. His merch sold out immediately at the Rumble pop up store.
The internet has tried to force the 2014 Bryan comparison and it’s simply not there.
Apart from Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, other big names like Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre and Gunther will be involved in the match. Whoever wins the match will be the next challenger for the WWE Universal Championship.
If you'd to watch a video covering the 10 worst booking mistakes in WWE Royal Rumble history, check it out below!