Cody Rhodes has been put through non-stop adversity since losing to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 39. The 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner was brutally attacked by Brock Lesnar on the first Monday Night Raw after the Showcase of the Immortals and engaged in brawls with the Beast Incarnate just about every week since. Rhodes was able to narrowly score a pinfall victory over Lesnar at WWE Backlash, but Lesnar made it clear that he was far from finished with his new rival. Ahead of their scheduled bout at WWE Night of Champions, Lesnar attacked Rhodes once more, this time breaking his arm in storyline.
Despite the storyline injury, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque confirmed that Rhodes vs. Lesnar will go on as scheduled at WWE Night of Champions.
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“Cody does have a broken arm. Obviously, not the best situation in the world. I don’t know if it’s the smartest decision in the world, but here’s the thing: Brock Lesnar wants to fight. Cody Rhodes wants to fight,” Triple H said at the WWE Night of Championsย media event. “Tomorrow, in this dome, they are going to fight.”
This angle is reminiscent of what went down with Rhodes this time last year at WWE Hell in a Cell. Ahead of that event, Rhodes legitimately tore his pectoral muscle but still competed against Seth Rollins, sporting the gruesome injury throughout the match. After his victory, Rhodes spent the remainder of the year on the shelf as he underwent surgery and began recovery.
This will be Rhodes’s first match in Saudi Arabia as well. WWE runs two shows in Saudi Arabia per year, but Rhodes’s injury forced him to miss WWE Crown Jewel this past fall. The prior 2022 WWE event in Saudi Arabia was WWE Elimination Chamber, which went down before Rhodes was signed to WWE.
WWE Night of Champions goes down this Saturday, May 27th and streams on Peacock at 1 PM ET.
The full card for the premium live event can be seen below…
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles
- Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Mustafa Ali
- WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
- WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Natalya
- Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
