The main event contract signing on the July 18 episode of Friday Night SmackDown descended into chaos, resulting in a significant change to the Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam. After a violent altercation, Cody Rhodes forced a new stipulation, turning his title challenge against John Cena into a Street Fight.
The segment, which took place in San Antonio, began with the champion attempting to back out of his scheduled defense. Cena cited physical and mental exhaustion, along with outside commitments to a Netflix film project, as his reasons for being unable to compete. This enraged Rhodes, who has been seeking a rematch since losing the title to a cheating Cena at WrestleMania 41.
Rhodes responded by attacking Cena at ringside, initiating a brawl that he ultimately controlled. After throwing the champion back into the ring, Rhodes struck him with the Undisputed WWE Championship belt and followed up with a splash that sent Cena crashing through the signing table.
With Cena incapacitated, Rhodes took the champion’s hand and forcibly signed the contract. “The American Nightmare” then grabbed a microphone and announced their match at SummerSlam, scheduled for August 2-3, would now be a no-disqualification Street Fight.
The logic of the segment drew criticism from former WWE employee Vince Russo. Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “BroDown,” Russo questioned the character shift from the champion.
“They’re not even paying attention to what they’re writing. They’re not even paying attention because when something happens, something has to come out of it. You know, it needs to make sense in some way, shape, or form. Even when we get to the end of the show, that they’re looking for something, but the something doesn’t make any sense. All of a sudden, bro, throughout this whole run, Cena is afraid of Cody now. I mean, hasn’t been phased by him, has been cocky, has been a heel, but now he’s trying to back out of a match. Like, how’d that happen?” Russo said.
The show concluded with Rhodes standing over the fallen champion, adding a layer of ruthless aggression to their highly anticipated title rematch.