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After Roman Reigns' 1000-day title reign celebration on SmackDown, fans were treated to a dark match between Cody Rhodes and The Miz.
At Night of Champions 2023 in Saudi Arabia, Brock Lesnar destroyed The American Nightmare and defeated him via technical submission. Surprisingly, Rhodes competed in a dark match after tonight's episode of SmackDown went off the air.
After Roman Reigns and others left the ring following the final segment, Rhodes came out and took on former WWE Champion The Miz in a singles match. He picked up a win over The A-Lister and posed for pictures with several fans.
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Cody Rhodes hasn't forgotten his big loss to Roman Reigns
At WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes lost the Undisputed WWE Universal title match against The Tribal Chief due to interference by The Bloodline. Rhodes immediately kicked off a feud with Brock Lesnar after WrestleMania 39 but he still wants to dethrone Reigns. Here's what he told ComicBook Nation shortly after WrestleMania 39:
"The goal is the same for me. I came here wanting one thing. It doesn't mean other stories won't happen that will also be finished, and it doesn't mean there aren't other milestones. ... But the most important thing to me is still the championship that sits on Roman's shoulders."
Cody Rhodes then acknowledged that his goal hasn't changed but he needs to focus on Lesnar for the time being:
"[With] how WrestleMania 39 ended, a lot of people wonder how [I would] look at this. I try not to get into the discussion on it, because it's more one of those things where, in my mind, the goal hasn't changed, but also other things are going to come up."[H/T WrestlingInc]
Roman Reigns is currently facing massive issues of his own following The Bloodline's implosion at Night of Champions. On tonight's SmackDown, Jimmy Uso was punished for his betrayal with Solo Sikoa hitting him with a Samoan Spike.
Did you enjoy tonight's edition of WWE SmackDown? Sound off!
