Cody Rhodes wins Royal Rumble Match in WWE return. The American Nightmare moved one step closer to his dreams with a Royal Rumble Match victory in his return.
WWE Royal Rumble advertised Kevin Owens challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, as well as Alexa Bliss challenging Bianca Belair for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship. Royal Rumble also advertised a unique Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match pitting Bray Wyatt against LA Knight.
Following Reigns’ victory over Kevin Owens in the main event, Reigns destroyed Sami Zayn in one of the most heated angles WWE has had in years.
Cody Rhodes can now say that he is a Royal Rumble winner as he outlasted 29 other WWE stars in this year’s 30-Man Royal Rumble match, earning a championship match at WrestleMania 39 in April. This match opened the show.
Of course, the top attractions were a men’s and women’s Royal Rumble match with Cody Rhodes winning the men’s Royal Rumble while Rhea Ripley won the women’s.
- Cody Rhodes wins Men’s 2023 Royal Rumble
- Bray Wyatt def. LA Knight | Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match
- Bianca Belair def. Alexa Bliss | WWE Raw Women’s Championship
- Rhea Ripley wins Women’s 2023 Royal Rumble
- Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens | Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations
| No. | Superstar | Eliminated | Eliminated By | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunther | Booker T, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, Xavier Woods | Cody Rhodes | 1:11:40 |
| 2 | Sheamus | Elias, Otis, The Miz | Drew, McIntyre, Gunther | 0:52:33 |
| 3 | The Miz | Sheamus | 0:04:23 | |
| 4 | Kofi Kingston | Gunther | 0:14:51 | |
| 5 | Johnny Gargano | Dominik Mysterio, Finn Bálor | 0:29:57 | |
| 6 | Xavier Woods | Gunther | 0:10:29 | |
| 7 | Karrion Kross | Drew McIntyre | 0:04:11 | |
| 8 | Chad Gable | Brock Lesnar | 0:08:42 | |
| 9 | Drew McIntyre | Elias, Karrion Kross, Otis, Sheamus | Gunther | 0:39:10 |
| 10 | Santos Escobar | Brock Lesnar | 0:04:56 | |
| 11 | Angelo Dawkins | Brock Lesnar | 0:02:28 | |
| 12 | Brock Lesnar | Angelo Dawkins, Chad Gable, Santos Escobar | Bobby Lashley | 0:02:28 |
| 13 | Bobby Lashley | Brock Lesnar | Seth “Freakin” Rollins | 0:07:14 |
| 14 | Baron Corbin | Seth “Freakin” Rollins | 0:00:07 | |
| 15 | Seth “Freakin” Rollins | Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley | Logan Paul | 0:37:18 |
| 16 | Otis | Drew McIntyre, Sheamus | 0:03:08 | |
| 17 | Rey Mysterio | Did not appear | N/A | |
| 18 | Dominik Mysterio | Johnny Gargano | Cody Rhodes | 0:25:44 |
| 19 | Elias | Drew McIntyre, Sheamus | 0:00:39 | |
| 20 | Finn Bálor | Edge (after elimination), Johnny Gargano | Edge | 0:07:45 |
| 21 | Booker T | Gunther | 0:00:42 | |
| 22 | Damian Priest | Montez Ford | Edge | 0:04:03 |
| 23 | Montez Ford | Damian Priest | 0:00:44 | |
| 24 | Edge | Damian Priest, Finn Bálor | Finn Bálor (after elimination) | 0:01:04 |
| 25 | Austin Theory | Ricochet | Cody Rhodes | 0:15:39 |
| 26 | Omos | Braun Strowman | 0:02:26 | |
| 27 | Braun Strowman | Omos | Cody Rhodes | 0:11:12 |
| 28 | Ricochet | Austin Theory | 0:09:14 | |
| 29 | Logan Paul | Seth “Freakin” Rollins | Cody Rhodes | 0:10:57 |
| 30 | Cody Rhodes | Austin Theory, Braun Strowman, Dominik Mysterio, Gunther, Logan Paul | WINNER | 0:15:08 |
