Fans convinced Cody Rhodes lost a tooth when Drew McIntyre hit him with a Claymore Kick at the Royal Rumble

Fans think Cody Rhodes lost a tooth when Drew McIntyre connected with a Claymore Kick during the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble – and footage of the incident has since emerged online.

Rhodes, who returned to WWE in 2022 after six years away from the company, claimed his second consecutive rumble victory on Saturday night to secure a world championship shot at WrestleMania 40.

After a dogged performance inside the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg after coming in as the No. 15 entrant, he eliminated Shinshuke Nakamura and Gunther before hurling favourite CM Punk over the top rope.

It was an impressive performance from Rhodes, who was on the receiving end of a huge Claymore Kick from Drew McIntyre before eventually securing his place at 'The Show of Shows'.

In fact, the 38-year-old lost a tooth after the Claymore connected, according to Ringside News, as footage of the incident emerged on X, formerly Twitter.

i found the clippic.twitter.com/DvhKOASBCz

— sindi🌧️ (@livsnightmare) January 28, 2024

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the scenes.

One said: "Saw that. I didn't see a missing one at the press conference so I thought I was seeing things," while another commented: "I thought I saw something fly out."

A third wrote: "Drew was also being really rough with CM Punk as well. Me and my friends noticed that when watching."

A fourth added: "I thought I was losing my mind but when the announcers didn’t say it I’m like oh that might be real."

After securing a place at Wrestlemania, Rhodes pointed at undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns.

He would later speak about a potential rematch with Reigns, who defeated Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 39.

“All due respect to Seth Rollins, that title gains more prestige everyday, but WrestleMania 39 did happen, and if you’re me, you can’t look at that, you can’t run from it," he said in the post-show press conference.

"I don’t know, WrestleMania 40, Monday Night RAW, Summerslam, Elimination Chamber. I want to be back in the ring with Roman Reigns, and I want to finish the story.

Roman Reigns’ reaction to Cody Rhodes winning tonights #RoyalRumble match.

“It’s over” can be heard in the background & Reigns hears it. pic.twitter.com/R5AziT6Bpv

— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) January 28, 2024

Rhodes added: "I detest the statement now because apparently everybody has a story. Punk wanted a story. Drew’s got a story. Everybody’s got a story. But a big part of me, I’m very big on keeping my word. So if I say something silly in the ring, but it’s a promise, I intend to keep the promise.

"I don’t know if two times the charm with Roman, we’ll see, but finish the story hopefully by the 2K25, just because I don’t think they will put me on the cover if I don’t get it done.”