Nick Aldis makes major Cody Rhodes announcement ahead of WWE SmackDown

WWE SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis made a major announcement about Cody Rhodes for the upcoming edition of the blue brand's show. The wrestling promotion's Friday Night show will air from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later tonight.

Following his absence from Survivor Series: WarGames, The American Nightmare will be on television later tonight. Rhodes is currently involved in an intense rivalry with Kevin Owens. The two former allies are set to lock horns at Saturday Night's Main Event with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line.

WWE recently posted a video on X (FKA Twitter) featuring Nick Aldis. The 38-year-old revealed that Cody Rhodes will kick off the December 6 edition of Friday Night SmackDown. He also spoke about the high-stakes matches scheduled for the show:

"🚨🚨🚨@RealNickAldis has some HUGE news regarding tonight's #SmackDown including @CodyRhodes KICKING OFF the show! 📺8/7c on @USANetwork," read the post.

You can check out the X/Twitter post below:

As mentioned by Nick Aldis, Tiffany Stratton, Naomi, and Elektra Lopez will fight to advance to the next round of the Women's Intercontinental Championship tournament. The Motor City Machine Guns will also defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits.

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Former WWE writer shares his take on Cody Rhodes' absence from the recent premium live event

Cody Rhodes has been an integral part of WWE programming since his return to the company at WrestleMania 38. He has wrestled on most of the premium live events. However, the 39-year-old's name was absent from the Survivor Series match card.

During a recent edition of his Wrestling with Freddie podcast, former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. claimed he missed Rhodes during the show. The 48-year-old stated the major champion should never miss a premium live event. Freddie noted that he could not remember John Cena missing any PLEs:

"I feel like I kinda missed it. I think he [Cody Rhodes] should always have a match at the pay-per-view. The champ should always be representing the brand, right? Am I wrong? I don't know maybe I'm wrong. I personally missed Cody Rhodes... I feel like in the John Cena era, there was not a pay-per-view that John Cena wasn't on. I can't think of one off the top of my head," he said. [From 38:13 to 38:55]

You can check out Freddie Prinze Jr's comments below:

The American Nightmare won the Undisputed WWE Championship by defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL. It will be interesting to see if Kevin Owens can cut short his title reign at Saturday Night's Main Event.