Over the past four years, Cody Rhodes has headlined every four consecutive WrestleMania events.
From his battles with Roman Reigns to recent meetings with John Cena and Randy Orton, “The American Nightmare” has positioned himself to be a prominent star around Mania time every year.
Whether it be for championship gold or to settle a score, Rhodes will be in line for a major match yet again come WrestleMania 43 from Saudi Arabia.
Here are seven potential Cody Rhodes WWE WrestleMania 43 opponents.
7. CM Punk
At WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night One, CM Punk defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.
This win came as a result of the returning Randy Orton interfering to cost Rhodes.
Following their match, Punk let it be known that he wasn’t happy with winning that way and offered Rhodes another shot after he was done dealing with Orton.
After telling his friend just say when, Punk may find himself standing across the ring from Cody Rhodes come WrestleMania 43 next year.
6. GUNTHER
Over the past few months, Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER have been feuding over the Undisputed WWE Championship.
After losing the title to Sami Zayn at Night of Champions, Rhodes was set to get a rematch until GUNTHER attacked him backstage to cause him to be removed from the bout and replaced by CM Punk, who went on to win the title.
While Rhodes did get his rematch and GUNTHER faced Nick Aldis at SummerSlam, both men are still heavily involved in the main event picture on SmackDown.
GUNTHER facing Cody at WrestleMania 43 could be a huge grudge match to finally settle the score between the two stars.
5. Sami Zayn
At WWE Night of Champions 2026, Sami Zayn defeated Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Over the past few months, Zayn and Rhodes have become rivals and enemies with their friendship falling apart.
Zayn has become obsessed with the WWE Title and has fractured all of his friendships in the process.
With WrestleMania 43 taking place in Saudi Arabia, it would be appropriate to see Sami Zayn want to end this feud with Cody Rhodes once and for all in front of his people.
4. Trick Williams
Since arriving on Friday Night SmackDown, Trick Williams has become one of the most popular stars in WWE today.
In one of his interactions on the blue brand, Williams went face-to-face with Cody Rhodes.
Showing no intimidation, Williams let it be known that he would run right through Cody on his way to the top of WWE.
Trick facing Cody would make for a tantalizing first time meeting on the WrestleMania 43 card.
3. Oba Femi
There is no hotter star on the WWE roster today on the level of Oba Femi.
After defeating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 and SummerSlam 2026, it feels like the sky is the limit for “The Ruler.”
Back at the December 13, 2025 WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, Femi had his first match on the main roster against then-Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
After that match went to a no contest, Femi could try to vanquish yet another top star against Rhodes at next year’s WrestleMania 43 premium live event.
2. Roman Reigns
Ahead of WrestleMania 42, there were rumors that WWE had discussed a possible rematch between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.
At both Mania 39 and 40, Rhodes and Reigns had two memorable battles over the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship with “The American Nightmare” finishing his story with his world title victory in 2024.
Since that battle at WrestleMania 40, Reigns and Rhodes have not gone one-on-one in two years.
Wanting to finally prove who is the better man, Roman Reigns could defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Cody Rhodes one more time on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
1. The Rock
The Rock has become a thorn in the side of Cody Rhodes especially around WrestleMania season.
In 2024, The Rock became “The Final Boss” and helped Roman Reigns in his rivalry with Rhodes.
Then in 2025, “The Great One” returned to facilitate John Cena’s heel turn ahead of him challenging Cody for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Mania 41.
Now, it feels like the perfect time for WWE to finally pull the trigger on The Rock facing off with Cody Rhodes one-on-one in Saudi Arabia next April.
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