37-year veteran sends a four-word message to Cody Rhodes after their meeting on WWE SmackDown

Cody Rhodes is currently enjoying his first run as the Undisputed WWE Champion on SmackDown. The American Nightmare had received staunch support from the WWE management, which had promptly congratulated him after his win at WrestleMania XL, including the blue brand’s General Manager Nick Aldis.

WWE is currently gearing up for the King and Queen of the Ring Premium Live Event in Saudi Arabia later this month. As the reigning champion, Cody Rhodes will be defending his title at the PLE, and on the latest episode of SmackDown, Nick Aldis revealed Logan Paul as Rhodes' next opponent.

The 33-year-old pro wrestling veteran met with Cody Rhodes once again on this week's SmackDown. Aldis and Rhodes faced each other multiple times outside WWE and recently the blue brand's GM shared a picture from one of their matches in NWA alongside a warm message on X/Twitter after shaking hands with The American Nightmare on a recent episode of blue brand.

"Hello again, old friend…," he said.

The United States Champion and the Undisputed WWE Champion will make their match official next week on SmackDown as they are set for a contract signing segment.

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Nick Aldis on how Cody Rhodes helped elevate his pro wrestling career

Before signing with WWE and becoming SmackDown General Manager in October 2023, Nick Aldis wrestled Cody Rhodes multiple times in 2018.

Speaking on the Generation of Wrestling podcast last year ahead of becoming SmackDown GM, Aldis stated that he owes the late success of his pro wrestling career to Rhodes.

"I'm also grateful to [Rhodes] because by working with him, it helped my cache. We were one of those rare situations where, and again it's a testament to how we both look at the business and we're traditionalists, we came out of our rivalry with each other both better off… It didn't just benefit him by getting to have the big win on this big show and winning the title that his father had held. It also did a lot for me because then by the time we got there, people were like, 'Man this guy is the real deal, this guy is different. This guy is special, and he does feel like a credible antagonist and a credible adversary for this guy who we really want to see win.'"

Aldis is currently having a decent run with WWE as SmackDown's General Manager. The former TNA star last competed in October 2023 at an independent show, it will be interesting to see if he returns to in-ring competition in the Stamford-based company.