AEW EVP and current TNT Champion Cody Rhodes is reportedly a free agent, having not renewed his contract with AEW when it expired in 2021. Rhodes has reportedly been wrestling for the company as a contracted free agent this January. This information has led some people to clamor for Cody Rhodes to appear in the Royal Rumble. After all, the forbidden door has been opened for Impact Knockouts World Champion Mickie James to return at the Rumble, entering the PPV with her belt. Then, WrestleVotes would report that WWE is looking to open the forbidden door for the Men's Rumble as well (side note: why, though? WWE already has a lot of talented stars that don't get enough exposure). These, some may argue, are evidence enough that WWE is now willing to acknowledge rival promotions and even work with them. But how likely is it for Cody Rhodes to also appear in the Royal Rumble?

Well, things might be more complicated for Rhodes than things are for Mickie James. After all, Rhodes, even without his current contract as a performer in AEW, is still the company's EVP. Speaking on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer flat out laughed at the idea of Cody Rhodes being in the Rumble. Apart from Cody, Meltzer specifically mentioned Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) as another AEW star who would definitely not be in the Rumble. In fact, he claims that we could completely rule out any AEW star appearing on the PPV.

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Having an AEW star appearing on one of WWE's major shows, and to be frank, vice-versa, would probably never happen. The two companies are in a bitter rivalry that is set to completely decimate the competition. The two companies are probably not even on speaking terms, and it would be beneath them to contact superstars independently for offers like this. So, even with Cody Rhodes not having an active performer contract with AEW, it doesn't mean that he's looking to leave the company that he helped build. In fact, chances are, Rhodes' contract issues with AEW could be a purely administrative one – a renewal of a contract that had to go through extra steps because of some particular issues.

Hence, while WWE appears to be interested in bringing in wrestlers from other promotions for this year's Royal Rumble, chances are those wrestlers won't be coming from AEW. Undoubtedly, the AEW stars are also squeezing the most out of these speculations, deliberately not denying the rumors to stir the pot a little bit more. Hence, even if the Grandson of a Plumber won't deny it, you definitely shouldn't bet on his appearance in the Royal Rumble either.