Cody Rhodes won his first WWE Title from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 in April, and his title reign is commonly criticized as being underwhelming. This criticism is probably due to the fact that Cody is being pushed as the top babyface in the company, and his overexposure is costing him his popularity. This has happened to countless top babyfaces in the past, especially John Cena, who is the best example of someone who is great in his own right yet was still hated as a babyface. Nonetheless, Cody still has a big red target on his back with that WWE Title around his waist.

With that being said, the following will focus on the three top contestants to dethrone Cody Rhodes on the road to WWE WrestleMania 41.

Dark Horse: Kevin Owens

KO turned heel on Cody recently by attacking him in the parking lot after Bad Blood because he is upset that Cody teamed with their arch nemesis, Roman Reigns, who made their lives a living hell during his reign of terror. Since Owens and Rhodes are close friends due to their common association with the Young Bucks, this feud would be a fun sequel to their prior title match at WWE Bash in Berlin. Although Owens does have an appropriate motive and storyline reason for doing so, he does not have the best case for dethroning Cody since he lacks sufficient momentum recently,

(3) Randy Orton

RKO is a top candidate to dethrone Cody mostly due to their Legacy history. Orton was not only Cody’s first opponent in the WWE in 2007, but he was also Cody’s mentor. Although Orton and Cody have battled in the past, Orton has not battled this newly evolved Cody since returning to the WWE in 2022. While Orton does have a compelling case to dethrone Cody, it would be better storytelling if Cody defeated Orton to prove that he is no longer the sidekick he was years ago in Orton’s stable. Now, he is a main event player who is ready to show his mentor why he was justifiably his star pupil.

(2) Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns still has a rematch clause for the WWE Title and can literally snap his finger to get his title shot in what would be a trilogy between him and Cody. Reigns defeated Cody at Mania 39 and Cody got his lick back against Roman at Mania 40. Since their track record is 1-1, it’s only a matter of time until they break the tie. Cody and Reigns are on the same page in their feuds against Bloodline right now. But, when they are on the road to Mania 41, the fans can kick that alliance out the door. In fact, there are even rumors of a triple-threat world title match amongst, Roman, Cody, and The Rock.

(1) The Rock

The Rock pinned Cody Rhodes at Mania 40 Night 1 and exchanged titles with him on the Raw after Mania. Clearly, it has already been telegraphed for The Rock to end this title reign. The Rock will dethrone Cody at Royal Rumble 2025, just like he did to CM Punk at Royal Rumble 2013. The Rock will then walk into Mania as the WWE Champ and defend the title against Roman Reigns. However, unlike what WWE did with CM Punk years ago against Cena and Rock, Cody Rhodes will get his rightful rematch and be inserted in the title match with Reigns and Rock at WrestleMania 41, as rumored.

If you would like more predictions like these from Mark Justice, stick with Daily DDT and subscribe to his new YouTube channel by clicking on his name above.