Cody Rhodes returns to WWE at WrestleMania 38

Cody Rhodes made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 as Seth Rollins’s mystery opponent.

Rhodes came out after Rollins made his entrance. He was introduced as “The American Nightmare” and used the same music he used on the independent scene and AEW. The two had a competitive back and forth match, with Rhodes scoring the win after hitting the crossroads.

Along with his wife Brandi, Rhodes left AEW back in February after negotiations between them and Tony Khan fell through. His final match with the company was losing the TNT Championship to Sammy Guevara on the Beach Break episode of Dynamite that took place on January 26.

Rhodes had signed with WWE back in 2006 and spent the next ten years with the promotion, winning the Intercontinental title two times and multiple tag team titles with Hardcore Holly, Drew McIntyre, Ted DiBiase, and his brother Goldust (Dustin Rhodes). He left the WWE in 2016 after asking for his release, and was later an executive vice president for All Elite Wrestling when the promotion launched in 2019.