Report: No Plans For AEW's Cody Rhodes To Be In WWE Royal Rumble

While he would be able to do so, there are reportedly no plans for Cody Rhodes to be involved at WWE's upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

It emerged on Monday that Rhodes was working in All Elite Wrestling as a free agent following the expiry of his contract at the end of 2021. This led to speculation that The American Nightmare could be an entrant in the Men's Royal Rumble, but Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer has squashed that speculation, noting Rhodes will not be in action at the event.

Instead, Rhodes is still scheduled to appear on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite where it is expected he will set up a rematch with Interim TNT Champion Sammy Guevara. Cody and Guevara were originally scheduled to go one-on-one for the TNT Title at Battle Of The Belts on January 8 but Rhodes was pulled from the event as he was isolating with family members who had tested positive for COVID-19.

It was previously noted that WWE would potentially try for an "unexpected" forbidden door-related entrant in the Men's Royal Rumble but it was reported that AEW would not be involved with any of those plans. IMPACT Wrestling, however, will have a presence in the Women's Rumble after it was announced Knockouts Champion Mickie James would be a surprise entrant.