Things completely broke down again when Cody Rhodes defended his WWE Championship against Gunther on SmackDown. He technically did so twice in one night. Another major name has entered the title picture, making it all the messier.
This week on SmackDown, Gunther was supposed to have the privilege of choosing the stipulation for his WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare had been having issues with his friend Sami Zayn lately, which is specifically why Gunther chose to have Sami Zayn as the special guest referee. However, things backfired in a huge way when he powerbbombed Sami Zayn in the match, and the special guest referee ended up costing him. Sami hit the three-count, and Cody was visibly devastated despite being the one to win the match.
Thanks for the submission!
It led to a huge argument backstage featuring Nick Aldis, Gunther, Cody Rhodes, and eventually, Sami Zayn. The screaming contest saw Cody going out and calling for a rematch with a proper referee, and Aldis approved. However, their match ended within seconds as Sami Zayn swooped in and hit the helluva kick, causing a DQ. When Cody came from behind to confront him, Sami accidentally smacked his head with the WWE title, effectively entering the championship picture.
On one hand, it might be quite frustrating for fans to see not one, not two, but three of these Cody Rhodes vs Gunther matches ending controversially. On the other hand, the addition of Sami Zayn to the mix makes it quite exciting. Gunther demanded a rematch at Night of Champions from Nick Aldis, and one has to wonder what the plans are.
If Sami were to enter the title picture on time for Saudi Arabia, it would likely be quite an exciting main nevent to have at Night of Champions 2026. Time will tell what happens, but we are just a little over a week away as of this writing.
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Edited by Rohit Nath
