Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the site of the upcoming Night of Champions PLE – Source: Unsplash
WWE feels like it’s finally cooking again after more than a few dark and somewhat bland months. WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas was somewhat of a dud, with only a blockbuster main event between CM Punk and Roman Reigns really worthy of a re-watch. Since Reigns claimed the World Heavyweight Championship, he has brought his Bloodline back together, adding Jacob Fatu to the Usos in a bid to cling to the gold. But over on SmackDown, a truly mouth-watering feud has developed.
Reigning WWE Champion Cody Rhodes already had his work cut out as he had to fend off Gunther, the man who ended the careers of each of Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles. The American Nightmare managed to successfully retain his title, albeit in controversial fashion, at the recent Clash in Italy event, triggering the two to have a rematch on the June 19th episode of SmackDown. There, the recently maligned Sami Zayn also entered the fray, serving as the special referee, only to lay out both title challengers and throw his name into the mix as a potential contender.
The Saga of the Summer
Now, all three men will face off at the upcoming Night of Champions event in Saudi Arabia, and online betting sites can’t predict the way the contest will go. It may come as a surprise to hear that the bookies actually offer betting on professional wrestling due to its scripted nature, but indeed they do. The popular Sportaza online sportsbook had champion Rhodes listed as a +200 underdog to defeat Randy Orton and retain his title at WrestleMania, and he duly upset the odds. Now, he finds himself in a similar position as the outsider, once again heading into the Saudi show.
But regardless of who wins the trio’s upcoming triple threat match, this feud looks set to continue throughout the summer, with all three men continually facing off throughout August’s SummerSlam season and perhaps beyond. But which of them will emerge from the three-way tug of war with the gold? Here, we plead the case for why each of them should ultimately reign supreme as WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes fending off both challengers, both at Night of Champions and beyond, is the obvious choice. The safe choice. And if WWE programming is anything to go by over the last two years or so, the safe choice is often the choice that the creative team makes.
The American Nightmare will sell merchandise. He will do all the talk show appearances the company wants him to do. And boy, can he wrestle. But truth be told, fans have gotten somewhat bored with Cody Rhodes as WWE Champion. They have been bored with it for the better part of a year now. Not even title match losses to John Cena and Drew McIntyre successfully changed that.
Should Rhodes cling on to the title beyond SummerSlam, the recent boos he has been hearing from the audience will likely only grow louder as fans clamor for change, not just in the title picture, but also in terms of the current champion’s character. Still, despite all that, he remains WWE Head of Creative Triple H’s man, the golden goose. And while that is the case, it becomes difficult to bet against the American Nightmare holding onto the gold.
Gunther
After successfully defeating each of Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles in their retirement matches and defeating Seth Rollins in a barn burner at WrestleMania, it seemed the only option at Clash in Italy was for Gunther to defeat Cody to become the new WWE Champion. Then, he inexplicably lost to a single Cross Rhodes, albeit while his foot was under the bottom rope, something that should have broken the referee’s pin count. Still, even with the somewhat dirty finish, the result felt like an anti-climax.
Was Italy the best chance the Ring General had of claiming the gold? Has his momentum from those retirement match victories somewhat cooled off? If so, it seems like the only way for WWE brass to regain that momentum for the company’s top heel would be by having him emerge from this feud as champion, before going on a lengthy reign where he defeats all comers. That’s Gunther’s main reason for winning: he has been booked into the corner, and becoming WWE Champion could well be the only way out of it.
Sami Zayn
The exciting choice right now would be for Sami Zayn to complete his heel turn by winning the WWE Championship for the first time in nefarious circumstances. Much like the case with Cody, the former Intercontinental Champion has seen WWE fans turn their back on him in recent weeks, roundly booing him for his never-ending good-guy shtick. Brilliantly, however, Zayn has smartly listened to the fans and, without fully turning to the dark side, has shown more villainous traits in recent weeks, culminating with him hitting Gunther with a Helluva Kick and drilling Rhodes with the WWE title on June 19th.
All that remains is for Zayn to complete this masterful turn by somehow emerging with the title, despite being a rank outsider to do so. Nobody is expecting the Canadian to claim the title in this feud, and that is precisely the reason why he should. He can then embark upon a cowardly heel run where he somehow clings onto the title month after month, getting more and more villainous each and every week. It probably won’t be the most popular choice either with fans or in WWE’s Headquarters, but the most exciting choice right now is for the “Last Real Good Guy” to somehow emerge as champion in shocking fashion.
