Roman Reigns Declares For Men's Royal Rumble Match; Intends To Challenge Cody Rhodes

Days after regaining his Ula Fala by defeating Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat, Roman Reigns has now put WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on notice. The OTC now wants his title back.
The Wiseman Paul Heyman kicked-off SmackDown Friday night to celebrate Reigns' victory on the Raw on Netflix premiere this past Monday night. Out of respect for the American Nightmare, Heyman then asked Cody Rhodes to come down to the ring so he could announce his Tribal Chief's new plans face-to-face.
Heyman told Rhodes that he has accomplished what very few men have done. Cody has earned the respect of Roman Reigns. It's because of that respect that Reigns wants Rhodes to know up front that he has declared for the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble Match.
"You've earned the respect of Roman Reigns."@WWERomanReigns may respect @CodyRhodes, BUT he’s after the Undisputed WWE Championship. His first stop? #RoyalRumble. 👊 #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/PMA2XGqTB9
— WWE (@WWE) January 11, 2025
Furthermore, when Reigns wins the match in Indianapolis coming up on February 1, he fully intends on challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 41.
Should that come to fruition, it would mark the third consecutive year that Reigns and Rhodes would close out the 'Showcase of the Immortals" with the company's top prize on the line.
Roman Reigns has won the Royal Rumble once in his Hall of Fame career, doing so back in 2015. He's competed inside the annual over the top rope challenge five other times, never finishing lower than third place.
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