The 2023 Royal Rumble was the first major milestone on the road to WrestleMania 39, with Cody Rhodes winning the Men's Rumble match to book a spot in the main event of 'The Grandaddy of ‘em All'.
Rhodes made his return at the event after missing a huge chunk of 2022 due to a pectoral injury, resuming his quest to pick up the one major title that the Rhodes family has so far never won; the WWE Championship.
Rhodes has long spoken of his desire to revert the title design back to the classic ‘Winged Eagle’ of the 1990s, and again teased his intentions, simply posting a photo of the legendary title belt on his Instagram story following his Rumble win.
The Winged Eagle design debuted in 1988, and was the WWE’s main prize until being quietly retired in 1998, evolving into the Attitude Era Winged Eagle in 1998. The likes of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and The Ultimate Warrior all held the belt, with Steve Austin the last to possess it after defeating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14.
#CodyRhodes has teased to bring back Winged Eagle #WWE Title. Would you like it if this title design to be brought back?
— JJA Sport Studio (@jjasportstudio) January 30, 2023
