Tonight’s WWE SmackDown was the final show of the 2024, and it closed out in a major way, cementing the first Championship showdown for the Royal Rumble. The Rumble is one of the biggest events of the year, and now it has its first marquee match, which will not only be a Ladder Match, but will also hold the opportunity for one superstar to walk out of the building with two Championships. The two superstars with that shot are Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and perceived Undisputed WWE Champion Kevin Owens, as Owens argues he was robbed of his Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Those who tuned into Saturday Night’s Main Event know that he’s referring to when the referee was knocked out on the floor as he pinned Rhodes for well past a 3 count. That understandably enraged Owens, especially after Rhodes was able to pin him later after spiking his head on a chair with a Cross Rhodes to get the win.
Owens then stole the Winged Eagle Championship that Rhodes had brought out of retirement for one night only, and since then Owens has kept the Title and stated he is the real Champion. Tonight Owens returned to SmackDown with the Title in hand, and he demanded that SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis give him a rematch against Cody if he wanted it back.
Aldis said, “I already said that this was not a negotiation. I already said there would be severe consequences, but maybe you need me to spell it out in English. Hand it over or you never set foot in a WWE ring again.” Rhodes then came out without his neck brace and told Aldis he wasn’t about to walk away and let Owens become a martyr. He then told Owens that for as much as he complains about how the Bloodline treated him, he just did the same thing to Rhodes and Orton.
[RELATED: Rhea Ripley Wins Best Female Wrestler of 2024 (Golden Issue Awards)]
That’s when Rhodes issued a challenge, telling Owens, “Take that Championship, hang em’ high up. Kevin Owens, ladder match!” Aldis double checked with Rhodes and Rhodes was adamant, so Aldis made it official, saying, “At the Royal Rumble, Kevin Owens will face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed Championship in a ladder match.” Owens agreed, and now with both Titles being up for grabs, one superstar will walk away with two of WWE’s most prestigious Championships.
That said, Owens couldn’t help himself, and he stomped on Rhodes’ already hurt neck several times before leaving the ring. Worthy of note here is that people were cheering Owens earlier in the segment when he said he wanted his rematch, but later fans were also behind Rhodes wanting to face Owens and get payback for Randy Orton. It will be interesting to see who gets the lion’s share of support from the Rumble crowd when the match actually goes down.
Right now this is the only confirmed match on the Rumble card aside from the traditional 30-superstar Rumble matches. We’ll likely get more confirmations for Rumble after the big debut of WWE Raw on Netflix, as that is being treated like a special event and already features several anticipated match-ups.
Who do you think will walk away the Undisputed WWE Champion? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!
Related Posts
-
Via WWE and @megastarvibez
