Cody Rhodes’ return wins Best WWE Moment ESPY Award

Cody Rhodes is now an ESPY award winner.

It was announced during Wednesday’s ESPY Awards on ABC that Rhodes had won the Best WWE Moment award for his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38, where he appeared as a surprise mystery opponent for Seth Rollins. Rhodes appeared on stage tonight to present the award for Best Comeback Athlete.

Voting started with 16 nominations, which were eventually whittled down to 4. The other three nominations included Undertaker being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Stone Cold Steve Austin stunning Vince McMahon, Theory, and Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38, and Big E cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and winning the WWE Championship.

Previous winners of the award include Roman Reigns returning to action following a recurrence of leukemia (2019) and Sasha Banks & Naomi making history as the first Black women to main event WrestleMania (2021).

Following WrestleMania 38, Rhodes continued his feud with Rollins, defeating him at WrestleMania Backlash. Rhodes is currently out of action after tearing his pectoral muscle just days before Hell in a Cell. Despite the injury, Rhodes worked through Hell in a Cell and defeated Rollins for a third time. The following Monday on Raw, Rollins attacked Rhodes with a sledgehammer, writing him off television.