The escalating conflict between Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is set to spill across brands this Friday, as SmackDown will host a main event featuring top stars from both Raw and SmackDown. Rhodes will team with Randy Orton to face The Vision’s Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed in a major tag team showdown less than two weeks before Crown Jewel.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis finalized the cross-brand encounter on Tuesday, September 30, through a social media announcement. He stated that an agreement was reached with his Raw counterpart, Adam Pearce, to bring the Raw Superstars to the blue brand. “Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker seem to enjoy getting involved in other people’s business as of late,” Aldis said. “And having just wrapped up a phone call with my esteemed colleague, Adam Pearce over at Monday Night Raw, we agreed that they can get involved in my business this Friday night on SmackDown.”
The match directly addresses the events of the September 26 edition of SmackDown, where Breakker and Reed attacked Rhodes before Orton intervened to even the odds. Orton’s involvement adds another layer to the conflict, as he has his own turbulent history with attacks from The Vision.
This confrontation serves as a critical build toward the champion versus champion main event at Crown Jewel on October 11 in Perth, Australia, where Rhodes is scheduled to face The Vision’s leader, Seth Rollins. Rhodes, who was the inaugural Men’s Crown Jewel Champion, has not faced Rollins in a premium live event singles match since their Hell in a Cell encounter in June 2022.
The tag team match is thus far the only contest announced for the October 3 episode of SmackDown, which will take place at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. During a face-to-face on Raw, Rhodes alluded to Paul Heyman potentially orchestrating The Vision’s attacks, questioning Rollins’s true leadership of the group.