00:00 We may already have an idea of the two main frontrunners for WrestleMania 40.
00:18 It's Sportskeeda Wrestling, I'm Kevin, get into the comments below, let us know what
00:23 you think.
00:24 After the December 11th episode of WWE Raw, we may even know who could win the Royal Rumble.
00:33 As of that episode, there have been only two men to announce their entries into the 13-man
00:38 fracas that is the Rumble match that decides who moves on to main event WrestleMania and
00:43 challenge for a world title.
00:45 And those two men are two of the most talked about in all of WWE, Cody Rhodes and the returning
00:50 CM Punk.
00:51 Incidentally, they're also the two favorites to win the Rumble right now.
00:55 Cody said it best himself, only one of them can finish their story.
01:00 For Cody, it's about capturing the WWE Championship, a title that his father, the Hall of Famer,
01:05 the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, never actually won, but technically defeated a champion for.
01:12 And that now takes the form of the undisputed Universal title held by the ruthless Roman
01:17 Reigns.
01:18 For CM Punk, it's all about achieving the one goal he stated he wanted in his first
01:23 run in WWE, but can now get upon his return, headlining WrestleMania.
01:28 We're going to make two arguments, one for Cody Rhodes and one for CM Punk, as to why
01:33 each should win the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble.
01:37 And let's get right into it, and you get into those comments and let us know who you're
01:40 picking.
01:41 Let's go into the Cody Rhodes road, possibly to WrestleMania.
01:44 The man who headlined WrestleMania 39 and nearly defeated Roman Reigns, yeah, unless
01:49 Roman Reigns' entire family didn't help him win the match, is rumored to be the opponent
01:54 for Roman Reigns once again at WrestleMania 40 in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia.
02:00 And to get that spot last year, he had to win the Royal Rumble coming off an injury,
02:04 so why should he win it again?
02:06 For one, if Cody Rhodes does win the Royal Rumble, it will be the first time in 26 years
02:12 that anyone has won back-to-back Rumbles.
02:15 The last man to do that was Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1998, and for the women, there is
02:22 yet to be one who has won the Royal Rumble twice, let alone twice in a row.
02:26 That's a whole different topic.
02:28 It would be a good change to have a back-to-back winner who fans truly are endeared to, but
02:32 that in and of itself isn't a strong enough reason to win it.
02:36 It isn't just about the stats, it's about the story.
02:39 Their argument for Cody Rhodes winning the Royal Rumble is that he has been in the driver's
02:44 seat for a while now.
02:45 He has been the guy, perfectly positioned to be the guy, to end this very dramatic and
02:52 well-promoted long title reign of over 1300 days that Roman Reigns has been on, and by
03:00 the time we get to WrestleMania 40, it will be even longer.
03:06 Cody Rhodes has been around and been spiritually connected to the lore of WWE.
03:13 Him winning it would mean a whole lot.
03:16 Given that WWE has invested so much in him to be the next babyface hero, it makes sense
03:22 for them to give him that selective honor of a Rumble win or maybe even a WrestleMania
03:30 win.
03:31 And for the anti-punk party fans who were probably in the comments at some point saying
03:34 you can't trust him, well, it looks like you can trust Cody if you give him that spot,
03:39 all those backstage drama, political issues, whatever.
03:42 Those don't really float around Cody in WWE, at least from what we know.
03:46 It's also worth noting that everything we've heard of CM Punk backstage in WWE has been
03:51 very wholesome, very heartwarming, and he's been welcomed with open arms by almost everyone
03:57 there.
03:58 Cody has proven himself to be a team player for the WWE.
04:01 Wherever he is, he is waving the flag of the company and proving himself to be a front
04:06 face superstar.
04:07 CM Punk by his nature is a rebel disruptor who simply draws in fans, wants to do right
04:14 by the business, but the history is there coming out of AEW.
04:18 Those two blow ups in Tony Khan's face, the fights backstage, we know it's floating over
04:23 him.
04:24 With that said, you could easily argue that Triple H and WWE will be well aware of that
04:29 risk and will do a lot better to keep Punk happy, Punk healthy, and maybe keep those
04:35 issues away from him.
04:37 For one, WWE isn't as dependent on CM Punk, and like Seth Rollins, a man who certainly
04:42 doesn't like CM Punk right now, said in that promo on the big definitive face off,
04:48 this run is essentially CM Punk's last chance in wrestling, and he knows it, and so does
04:54 WWE.
04:55 That narrative alone might be enough to deter him from causing any issues, or maybe it's
05:01 a narrative to set a completely different storyline for CM Punk that doesn't involve
05:05 Roman Reigns.
05:06 This still doesn't change the fact that Cody doesn't have that history, he doesn't have
05:12 that around him, that's an advantage he has built in.
05:15 Another good reason for Cody to win the rumble is the fact that he does face Roman Reigns.
05:22 There's a story there to build on, a rematch to build from, and there's no way he's in
05:27 any spot but the main event of WrestleMania 40 on night two where it seems satisfactory.
05:34 He needs to finish his story, the emotional conviction he has portrayed in that story,
05:39 the history that is undeniable in his family, it all still makes sense.
05:45 It's still something that would be fulfilling to see played out on the grandest stage of
05:49 them all.
05:50 Since it's the most important match on the entire card of the two days that are now a
05:55 modern WrestleMania, it's not unreasonable for the men's Royal Rumble winner to get that
06:00 spot.
06:01 Our last argument for Cody Rhodes is that this rumble is an opportunity to give him
06:06 an Iron Man like performance.
06:09 He didn't really get that so much in his last Royal Rumble win as he was really only in
06:13 there for 15 minutes, though he did have a really great mini match at the end there with
06:16 Kunther, this time he should be given the opportunity to last an hour or a little more,
06:21 even get a bigger win than he did in 2023.
06:24 You always have to up the ante.
06:26 Now let's make the case for CM Punk.
06:28 We have even more reasons why he should be the winner of the 2024 men's Royal Rumble
06:33 match.
06:34 That doesn't mean we have a bias or a preference, but it's just fresh on the mind, right?
06:38 First the Royal Rumble 2024 is exactly 10 years to the day of the infamous 2014 edition
06:44 that saw CM Punk get injured and walk out from WWE.
06:48 Do we need to say how poetically justified it would be for him to win this Royal Rumble
06:53 10 years after his falling out with the company?
06:57 Punk winning the Rumble and proving his detractors wrong with his on display determination and
07:03 will to win in his first big premium live event match back in WWE would be a special
07:08 way to establish this revived narrative with him as the second city Saint pursuing a restored
07:15 legacy.
07:16 Plus he's never won a Rumble before.
07:19 Even as a possible runner up, Cody Rhodes can also find another path to a big WrestleMania
07:24 match, even Roman Reigns by capturing maybe the big prize at the 2024 Elimination Chamber
07:30 match and earning a spot against Reigns.
07:32 That way the Rumble isn't the only path to main event glory at Mania.
07:37 Thirdly, the rivalry between Punk and Rollins is one that fans are already gravitating to
07:43 with his return.
07:45 The hatred between them is believable and likely legitimate and now they have a prize
07:51 to fight for in the new World Heavyweight Championship.
07:55 Punk winning the Rumble is a perfect way to set up a main event for WrestleMania 40 night
08:00 one.
08:01 The next reason of ours is fairly simple.
08:04 CM Punk is red hot right now.
08:05 The numbers are there.
08:07 Tens of millions of people on social media engage by WWE across the board on his return
08:14 at Survivor Series.
08:15 The reports of his merchandise selling six figures within just a few days of his return
08:21 are all factors for why WWE can bet on CM Punk.
08:26 The timing is everything and the timing is on his side.
08:30 He's a bonafide box office star.
08:33 Whether you like him or not, you care about what he's doing and it makes sense to capitalize
08:38 on the momentum by having him win the Royal Rumble match.
08:42 The fifth reason is that winning the Rumble match and choosing Rollins instantly elevates
08:47 the prestige of the World Heavyweight Championship.
08:51 Seth Rollins has done a lot to build the legitimacy of the new world title and has been a fighting
08:56 champion.
08:57 Even then, it's hard to get rid of the perception that it's just secondary to the undisputed
09:01 Universal Championship that Roman Reigns has held for so long.
09:05 Punk winning the Rumble and choosing to go with Rollins in the World Heavyweight title
09:10 would do a lot to dispute that perception.
09:13 Our last case arguing why CM Punk should win is fairly simple.
09:19 He deserves to win a Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania.
09:22 Apart from winning a US Championship, becoming a Grand Slam champion, there are only two
09:26 real pivotal achievements CM Punk has left in WWE, a Rumble and headlining a Mania.
09:33 He made it clear that his goal is to headline Mania and despite what we said about Night
09:39 2 being a more important match, it doesn't change the fact that main eventing any night
09:45 of WrestleMania is main eventing WrestleMania.
09:48 The two night format of WrestleMania expanded a few years ago, lending itself to the bigger
09:52 appetite and the bigger broadcast potential that a streaming platform gives WWE and Peacock
09:58 has allowed for more superstars to be featured in big time matches on the biggest stage of
10:03 the mall.
10:04 Last year, we had a tag team title match with Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and The Usos in the
10:09 main event.
10:10 The big matches with Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks.
10:13 These are possible because of the two night Mania format.
10:16 CM Punk could benefit from that.
10:19 Superstars who wouldn't have even imagined headlining a Mania before are now getting
10:23 that honor, no doubt a part of the pivotal systematic changes that CM Punk advocated
10:27 for many years ago in his first run in the company.
10:31 Do you think Cody Rhodes and CM Punk should win the Royal Rumble match?
10:35 Which one would you choose?
10:37 Let us know in the comments below.
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