Cody Rhodes takes a shot at The Rock on WWE SmackDown before his rematch against John Cena

Cody Rhodes is set for a rematch against John Cena at WWE SummerSlam. On this week's SmackDown, he took a dig at The Rock.

Rhodes became the #1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship after winning the 2025 King of the Ring Tournament. He defeated Randy Orton in the final and earned his shot at the man who beat him at WrestleMania 41.

Speaking on SmackDown, Rhodes addressed one of his recent messages on social media, which got the WWE Universe talking. The former Undisputed WWE Champion claimed that he didn't flinch when The Rock and politics came for his soul and his spot.

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"I did not flinch when politics and The Final Boss came for my soul and came for my spot," said Cody Rhodes.

Check out Cody Rhodes' promo from SmackDown:

Before WrestleMania 41, Cena sold his soul to The Rock after The Final Boss initially made the deal to Rhodes. The American Nightmare's rejection saw him get brutally beaten at the hands of Cena, The Rock, and Travis Scott at the Elimination Chamber: Premium Live Event.

Rhodes and Cena will cross paths in a Street Fight. Initially, Cena refused to put his title on the line at SummerSlam, but Rhodes had other ideas, as he took Cena out and forcefully made him sign the contract.

About the author

Soumik Datta is a professional wrestling journalist who has been following the business for more than a decade.

In 2017, Soumik joined the Sportskeeda Wrestling team and is best known for his work with the WWE team. He has previously contributed to the Sportskeeda AEW, MMA, and the football team where he specifically covered the Major League Soccer.

In 2024, Soumik crossed 50 million reads for Sportskeeda WWE. While working under Sportskeeda MMA, he interviewed prominent UFC fighters, including Justin Gaethje, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen, among others. He is also being followed by John Cena on X (formerly Twitter).

Apart from his love for professional wrestling, Soumik also watches Football and has been a lifelong follower of Liverpool FC and Mohun Bagan. He has also been following the Indian Super League and remains the only content creator to have traveled across India to watch 7 ISL Matches in 7 Days, a video which currently sits at 26K views on his YouTube channel. His channel currently amasses over 120K views.

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Edited by Angana Roy