Cody Rhodes shares heartfelt message ahead of WWE SmackDown
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes shared a heartfelt message ahead of tonight's edition of SmackDown in Jacksonville, Florida. The American Nightmare will have a contract signing with United States Champion Logan Paul tonight to make their match official for WWE King and Queen of the Ring.
Before returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38, Rhodes served as an EVP for All Elite Wrestling. The promotion is based in Jacksonville, and the SmackDown star is one of the reasons the company launched several years ago.
Ahead of tonight's edition of the blue brand, he shared on his Instagram story that he was excited to be back in Jacksonville and is looking forward to tonight's show. You can check out the post on his Instagram story by clicking here.
"Heart filled to be back in Jacksonville tonight! Excited for this," he wrote.
Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania XL last month to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship. The Tribal Chief has not been seen on SmackDown since his loss at The Show of Shows.
Former WWE manager names 36-year-old to dethrone Cody Rhodes
Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell believes a RAW star will be the one to take the title from Cody Rhodes down the line.
Speaking on a recent episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show, Mantell noted that he wasn't a fan of Rhodes as champion. He predicted Gunther would eventually dethrone Rhodes and go on to have a clash with Roman Reigns.
"I don't really like him as champion because I think Gunther will be the champion after about a year, and I think he will hold it for quite a while. I would like to see Gunther vs. Roman. I think they could almost do that now, except they don't need it; it would be rushing it. But they've got so many ways to go." [52:24 onwards]
You can check out the video below:
Gunther's historic Intercontinental Championship reign came to an end at 666 days at the hands of Sami Zayn at WrestleMania XL. The Ring General has also been eliminated by Cody Rhodes in the past two Men's Royal Rumble matches.