6 months ago
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Since winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns, it's been a largely comfortable ride for Cody Rhodes, who spent his first month as champion largely out of the ring while on TV, save for a nontitle match against Carmelo Hayes. That's beginning to change though, as Rhodes had his first title defense on a PLE this Saturday when he defeated AJ Styles at Backlash and is poised to defend the championship again in a few weeks for WWE's upcoming King and Queen of the Ring PLE in Saudi Arabia.
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The question of who Rhodes would like to face at the event was posed when "The American Nightmare" sat down at the post-Backlash media scrum, only moments after his win over Styles. And at least in the moment, Rhodes' answer carried a bit of uncertainty.
"That is a really great question," Rhodes said. "It's almost a better question for Triple H, in terms of the matchmaker, the person who is putting on these international PLE's. And clearly, you can see the effort is being made to...we're not resting on our laurels, in a sense. Business is hotter than its ever been for the last two years, but the intention is when we're at Backlash again, it's even bigger, it's even better. That would truly be amazing.
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"There is, not to skate away from your question, there are so many [I want to wrestle]. I feel I've only scratched the surface perhaps with AJ Styles. I don't know if we'll revisit that, but that's the type of fight I'd love to get into one more time. And he left a little ding on my shoulder that perhaps I'd like to return the favor. But there's a lot of folks."
Rhodes Names LA Knight As A Potential Challenger
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Giving himself a moment to think on the question, Rhodes again noted that there was an unlimited list of potential opponents. In the end, when it came down to his next challenger, Rhodes was able to come up with one name, the same man who lost a #1 contenders match to AJ Styles just a few weeks ago. He also alluded to a former rival, whom he has unfinished business with, potentially stepping up to challenge him down the road.
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"LA Knight is somebody that I look at," Rhodes said. "Because...I get it, 'They're two good guys!' I understand that, but there's a flavor there. There's something about it. And it's like I was saying to you, when you've got that fever, you've got to know. You want to know 'No no, I'm the man.' 'No, I'm the man.' All that macho, toxic, alpha stuff that...I still have a bit of I suppose.
"But there's so many [potential challengers]. And there's probably new faces that we don't need to know. And I'm not going to say his name, he had a birthday the other day. But he returned a gift to me that I did not appreciate, and when that man returns, I'd like to take something from him as well."
