Cody Rhodes' SmackDown entrance featured a fan sign taking an embarrassing shot at AEW

A fan was spotted taking a shot at AEW during Cody Rhodes' SmackDown entrance.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody kicked off this week's Friday Night show, making his way to the ring to sign the contract for his upcoming match against AJ Styles. The American Nightmare will defend his title against The Phenomenal One at Backlash France next month.

During his entrance, a camera caught an embarrassing sight for AEW. A fan in the audience section held a signboard that read "Arena's Empty Wrestling!" This was a clear dig at Tony Khan's company, which has seen empty arenas for multiple shows in the previous few months.

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Dutch Mantell found Cody Rhodes' SmackDown segment bland

Usually, contract signings end up with a brawl erupting inside the ring, but Cody Rhodes' SmackDown segment with AJ Styles went on pretty smoothly this week. Therefore, Dutch Mantell found the segment a bit uninteresting.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, the 74-year-old wrestling legend stated that The Phenomenal One should've slapped The American Nightmare to spice up their feud.

"What a cheap pop! Just bring out the town's name. 'Cincinnati, yay!' Guaranteed. They're gonna cheer for this. Then he said, 'What am I gonna talk about?' If I'm AJ, I would've slapped him right there. What am I gonna talk about? What do you think you're out here to talk about?" he said.

Even though Mantell found the segment a bit boring, he stated that the clash between Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles at Backlash France would be a great showdown.

"It is what it is. It's Cody [Rhodes vs. AJ [Styles]. So if you wanna see it, see it. But did that compel anybody to go see it? Eh, not really. But if you were going to, it's a good setup to it," he added.

Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes locked horns with former NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes in the main event of SmackDown this week. The Undisputed WWE Champion eventually emerged victorious after an entertaining encounter.