Add as a preferred source on Google Cody Rhodes now has a date for his chance to regain the WWE Championship.
On this week’s Friday Night SmackDown, Sami Zayn made his first appearance as world champion after defeating Rhodes and Gunther in a Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions in Riyadh.
The segment quickly moved away from a celebration. Rhodes appeared to confront Zayn, while Jey Uso also entered the title discussion, creating the first major issue for the new champion on the road to SummerSlam.
Adam Pearce decided to settle the situation later that same night. The General Manager booked Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso, with the winner becoming Zayn’s first challenger.
In the SmackDown main event, Rhodes defeated Uso with the Cross Rhodes to earn the WWE Championship opportunity. With that, his rematch against Zayn was set for next Monday’s Raw on July 6 at Allstate Arena in Chicago.
The location stands out. The Rosemont arena is advertising names such as CM Punk, The Usos, Penta, Liv Morgan, Oba Femi, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and Je’Von Evans for the show, though the card is subject to change.
Fightful also reported that there remains an expectation that Punk will return to WWE on that Raw in Chicago. Punk has not appeared since the post-WrestleMania 42 Raw, when he had a segment with Rhodes that left a future title program on the table.