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On the latest episode of SmackDown from Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, WWE champion John Cena went face-to-face with his challenger Cody Rhodes for SummerSlam Premium Live Event (PLE), in a contract signing, to make their title match official. After losing the WWE Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 41, Cody Rhodes took a long road to get a step closer to the title, and he had to earn the spot by defeating Randy Orton for the King of the Ring crown at WWE Night of Champions PLE.
In the main event segment on WWE SmackDown, Cody Rhodes arrived inside the building with a purpose before talking about how he didn’t flinch on the road to SummerSlam, but still, it eats him inside that he didn’t use the championship belt to dispose off John Cena at WrestleMania, allowing the latter to do it to him. The American Nightmare also alluded to the night when John Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber earlier this year at his expense, to align himself with The Rock while selling his soul.
Shortly after, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, who was overseeing the WWE Championship contract signing, invited John Cena to grace San Antonio with his presence. Immediately after getting on the mic, John Cena talked about how he can’t compete at SummerSlam next month because of his movie schedule, which has drained him emotionally, to the absolute frustration on the face of Cody Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes used the championship belt to take out John Cena on WWE SmackDown
John Cena tried to leave the arena, but Cody Rhodes didn’t allow him to walk away that easily, and it led to a brawl all over the arena between two of the biggest superstars in WWE today. In the latter stages of their brawl, Cena had the championship belt, ready to take down Rhodes just like at WrestleMania, but the challenger ducked underneath before doing the same to the champion before putting him on the table for the taking.
Cody Rhodes delivered a splash from the top rope to John Cena through the table before making him sign the contract for the WWE Championship match, and he also read the fine print, which stated the contest will be a street fight.
