Major name to miss upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown; recent update appears to confirm his absence
A major WWE Superstar seemingly is set to miss an upcoming edition of SmackDown. The Bloodline attacked Paul Heyman during the closing moment of this past Friday's episode of the blue brand.
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes took to social media today to share his schedule for July 2024. He is set for a WWE Live Event tour in Japan this month and the post also seemingly confirms that The American Nightmare will miss the July 26 edition of SmackDown.
The former AEW star has appearances for the next three editions of blue brand on the calendar but the last episode of the Friday Night show in July is left off as Rhodes will be in action at a live event in Tokyo, Japan. You can check it out in his Instagram post below.
Cody Rhodes was attacked by Solo Sikoa and The Bloodline following his victory at Clash at the Castle. The American Nightmare squared off against Sikoa last month on SmackDown but Jacob Fatu debuted and attacked the champion.
Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton were escorted out of Madison Square Garden this past Friday in an effort to avoid a brawl with The Bloodline. However, WWE even claimed that the "wrong guys" were removed from the building in a recent post on social media.
Hulk Hogan comments on Cody Rhodes as Undisputed WWE Champion
Hulk Hogan believes Cody Rhodes is on his way to greatness and recently shared that he is a huge fan of his work.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Bill Apter last month, the Hall of Famer praised Rhodes as a talent. He added that the 39-year-old deserves his spot at the top of the card and could have longevity as champion.
"I think Cody has worked real, real hard to niche out for himself. I think he deserves to be exactly where he's at. He's cool, calm, and collected, very methodical, and I think he's got some serious, serious longevity. I love his work. I love his work. He's doing a really great job up there, and I've seen some really good stuff with him and Seth [Rollins], some really believable stuff, and it looks like he's on to greatness." [From 04:23 – 04:55]
You can check out Hogan's comments in the video below:
Cody Rhodes took a major shot at The Bloodline on SmackDown and referred to Solo Sikoa as a "seat filler." Rhodes, Owens, and Orton will be facing The Bloodline in a Six-Man Tag Team match at WWE Money in the Bank.