Cody Rhodes only appeared after SmackDown went off the air this week as he saved his former tag team partner from Gunther’s assault. It led to a wholesome segment to close the show.

While the blue brand show this week closed with United States Champion Solo Sikoa getting pinned, and then LA Knight getting destroyed by Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, there were two huge dark matches. One of them saw The Celtic Warrior Sheamus defeat a familiar old foe, while the headliner was a Street Fight between Gunther and his big rival, Jey Uso.

Gunther won the match via a low-blow and roll-up (there was no DQ), and after the match, Cody Rhodes came out to save his former tag team partner, Jey Uso. It led to a post-match celebration with the crowd to send them home happy after a tumultuous and tense episode of SmackDown:

Cody Rhodes seems right on schedule for a possible return to the top of WWE

The American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, may not have been featured on the July 11th episode of SmackDown, but his road to SummerSlam begins next week.

He will be under the same roof as John Cena finally, which means we’ll see them go face-to-face as a huge WrestleMania rematch will take place in the main event of SummerSlam 2025.

He secured this spot by winning the King of the Ring Tournament, which is another accolade that makes him among the most decorated WWE stars of the 2020s. It’s going to be interesting to see how things play out in his rivalry with John Cena this time around.

Cena has gotten past the likes of his old rivals, Randy Orton and CM Punk, defeating them and standing tall in their last-ever matches. There is no word on whether this will be Rhodes’ last outing against Cena, but one thing is for sure: it’s going to be his most important rodeo at SummerSlam yet.

If he defeats John Cena, The American Nightmare will firmly be on top again as the face of WWE.