Cody Rhodes reportedly signs with WWE; return date and WrestleMania status revealed
Former AEW star Cody Rhodes has reportedly signed a new contract with WWE.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, The American Nightmare signed with the company about 10-14 days ago. Rumors of his return to WWE have circulated since he and wife Brandi departed AEW. Cody also served as the Executive Vice President of the promotion alongside The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega.
The former TNT Champion parted ways with the sports entertainment giant back in 2016, and according to the report, the current plan is for him to return during WrestleMania weekend. He'll be a part of the RAW brand following his return.
Cody Rhodes will reportedly make his WWE in-ring return at WrestleMania 38 against Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins will reportedly face The American Nightmare at The Grandest Stage of Them All, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. This match has been the assumed direction for Rhodes' debut for some time now, and Meltzer reported that he doesn't expect the plan to change.
"Yeah, he's coming," said Meltzer. "I mean, that's it. He's coming, he's wrestling Seth at WrestleMania unless something changes, and I don't expect... I sure watched this [Raw] not thinking anything's changing."
Meltzer added that Cody Rhodes could make a surprise return at WrestleMania similarly to how The Hardy Boyz did in 2017:
"How they do it, I think they may end up doing the Hardys thing, where you know they're coming but they don't announce it, and they get the big pop, they show up the day of the show," Meltzer continued. "They may be doing that one. But they've played up so big, Seth Rollins and WrestleMania. Again, he didn't do an angle with anybody else, there's nobody left. It's not like they downplayed him because he's not on the card, which is what you do in this scenario if someone's not one the card." (H/t WhatCulture)
Seth Rollins is currently not scheduled to compete at The Show of Shows, and WWE hasn't officially announced Rhodes' signing yet. Moving forward, fans will have to wait and see how things pan out.