WWE was forced to bring Cody Rhodes back early, says veteran, for one major reason

Cody Rhodes punched his ticket to WWE Night of Champions 2025 on the most recent edition of RAW. Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley thinks the company was forced to bring The American Nightmare to the company ahead of their original plans.

Rhodes lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas and went on a hiatus. However, the absence from television didn’t last for long, as The American Nightmare returned to the company in around a month at Saturday Night’s Main Event to save Jey Uso from Logan Paul and The Franchise Player.

Speaking on Busted Open, WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley and Dave LaGreca discussed Cody Rhodes’ recent win and how he returned too soon to the promotion. During this conversation, Dudley stated that the audience’s love towards The American Nightmare forced the company to bring him back earlier than expected.

“Because he disappeared for a while, and absence makes the heart grow fonder. And the cheers that I heard for Cody Rhodes last night remind me of that the fact that I think the people don’t want to see this guy leave again. It’s always good for somebody to get out of the people’s eyes for a little while… I think that they brought him back quicker,” Dudley said. (From 24:06 to 25:00)

Cody Rhodes could end up facing John Cena at WWE SummerSlam 2025

Triple H-led creative brought back the King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments last year with a new twist. The winners of both tournaments would get a title shot of their respective brands at WWE SummerSlam. Nia Jax and Gunther dominated the tournament last year, winning the championships of their respective brands at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

The management decided to change the qualifiers this year, and a series of Fatal Four-Way matches took place at the beginning. Later, Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Jey Uso qualified for the semifinals, and Rhodes and Orton advanced to the finals.

At Night of Champions 2025, The American Nightmare will go one-on-one against The Viper to earn a shot against John Cena’s Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam in New Jersey. It’ll be interesting to see which star makes it to the Biggest Party of the Summer against the champion.

If you use quotes from the article, please credit Busted Open and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.