Cody Rhodes' former rival in AEW to attack him on WWE SmackDown & start a new feud? Potential explored

Cody Rhodes is being advertised to appear for this Friday's episode of SmackDown at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Rhodes is coming off a loss to Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel: Perth, failing to win the Men's Crown Jewel Championship for the second year in a row.

But what's next for The American Nightmare? He has only defended his Undisputed WWE Championship once since winning it back from John Cena at SummerSlam. He defeated Drew McIntyre at Wrestlepalooza, but who could be the next feud for Rhodes?

While Randy Orton has teased going after the Undisputed WWE Championship, he hasn't earned a title shot. Someone who has a case for being the No. 1 contender is Aleister Black, who won his feud against Damian Priest.

Black has two wins over a former World Heavyweight Champion, plus getting to work with his wife Zelina Vega should put him over the top. He also has a history with Cody Rhodes during their time together at AEW.

It was a bit unfinished and could continue in WWE, especially if Aleister Black decides to attack Cody Rhodes this Friday on SmackDown. Nevertheless, these are just pure speculation, and nothing has been confirmed. Black has momentum that the company should capitalize on.

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Aleister Black wants to face Cody Rhodes

Speaking on the Battlegrounds podcast back in May, Aleister Black expressed his interest in facing Cody Rhodes. Black had an iconic win over Rhodes in his in-ring debut for AEW in August 2021.

"Having run my storylines with him has made me so much more hungry for more of it because I feel that there was a lot more that we could have tapped into, and I sincerely hope we can do that here because there was so much left on the table, both verbally and stuff that was written down, that we never got to, and hopefully now we can kinda pivot because the contrast between the two characters is so vast that it makes such an interesting connection," Black said.

It will be interesting to see if Black gets pushed in the main event spot or if he'll go after the United States Championship instead.