WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event returned on NBC this weekend, but one major WWE Superstar left worse for wear. Cody Rhodes, the current Undisputed WWE Champion, had to be stretchered out of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, where WWE held SNME.
Rhodes successfully defended his title in the TV special’s main event match, defeating challenger Kevin Owens in controversial fashion. At one point, Owens visibly had Rhodes down for the count, but the referee was indisposed. Later in the bout, Rhodes hit Owens with his finishing move (the “Cross Rhodes,” a rolling move that slams the opponent’s face into the ground) while standing over a steel chair. The referee also missed the WWE champ’s maneuver, so a disqualification wasn’t called. Rhodes won the match.
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After the NBC broadcast concluded, Owens attacked Rhodes, who is the son of late wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes. The distraught challenger hit Rhodes with a piledriver, a dangerous professional wrestling move that involves dropping the opponent on the top of their head.
As a result of the piledriver’s, Rhodes was placed in a neckbrace and stretchered out. Owens took Rhodes’ title belt (a throwback WWE championship for the retro SNME broadcast), got in a heated confrontation with WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque and left the arena.
Is Cody Rhodes Really Injured?
Rhodes’ legitimate condition is unclear, though the stretcher job was likely done for the sake of a storyline. Owens, a former WWE Universal Champion, recently hit Randy Orton with the same package piledriver, and Orton hasn’t been seen on WWE SmackDown since. WWE likely treated Rhodes’ condition as severe to sell the severity of Owens’ piledriver maneuver.
So while it’s unlikely the piledriver legitimately hurt Rhodes’ neck, there’s always the possibility that the WWE champ is dealing with other injuries in private. However, Rhodes, who is the husband of WAGS Atlanta star Brandi Rhodes, is still scheduled to appear at a non-televised event in Jacksonville, Florida, on Dec. 26.
