Cody Rhodes Earns First Place Over John Cena, LA Knight In WWE Payback Merch Sales

"The American Nightmare" beat one of the biggest stars in WWE history at Payback last week ... at least in merchandise sales. According to Fightful Select, Cody Rhodes topped the list for individual talent merchandise sales at the premium live event held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, beating out John Cena in the number two position and L.A. Knight at number three. The outlet reported this is a rarity, as Cena's merchandise continues to be hot sellers, especially when new items are dropped. 

Fightful reported generic WWE merchandise topped the list, as usual, which includes WWE-branded and Payback-branded merchandise, as well as title belts. Knight's merchandise had been selling best online via Fanatics, but the company has "made it a point" to make Knight's merchandise more available at live events.

Rhodes appeared on The Grayson Waller Effect talk show segment at Payback and brought out Jimmy Uso, announcing he used "all the chips" he had to get the star on "WWE Raw." Cena was announced as the guest host of the premium live event on the go-home episode of "SmackDown." He was then announced as the special guest referee for Knight's match against The Miz. Knight came out on top and Cena raised his hand on the entrance stage after the match.