Cody Rhodes to defend WWE title in a steel cage match next week on SmackDown USA Premiere

Cody Rhodes is set to defend his Undisputed WWE Championship once again - but he isn't waiting until Bad Blood 2024 for that to happen. On SmackDown's USA Network Premiere next week, Rhodes will defend his the championship in a Steel Cage Match.

This week, on the SmackDown after Bash in Berlin 2024, Cody praised his last opponent, Kevin Owens, and called out The Bloodline. Surprisingly enough, he told Solo Sikoa that he wasn't the one who deserved a #1 contender's spot - Jacob Fatu did. Jacob Fatu momentarily stepped up but then expressed his unwavering loyalty to Solo - loudly and without a mic. It was loud enough for the entire arena to hear what he said.

So he stepped back and as The Bloodline collectively looked like they were going to attack Cody, The Street Profits and DiY swooped in to save him and prevent an assault. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis came out and announced two things - an eight-man tag team match as well as a huge WWE title bout for next week's SmackDown on the USA Network Premiere. It will be Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in a Steel Cage Match.

What was extremely interesting was the brief moment where it looked like Jacob Fatu was going to be named the number one contender. In Cody Rhodes' eyes, The Samoan Werewolf is far more deserving of the spot than Solo is.

It's going to be interesting to see if a rift will be caused, but it doesn't look that way, at least for now.

Either way, Jacob Fatu in the Undisputed WWE Title picture seems to be inevitable.