Triple H Announces Cody Rhodes WWE Title Defense Will Open SmackDown's Return To USA

By Ross W Berman IV
Cody Rhodes teases Solo Sikoa with the Undisputed Title Wwe/Getty Images

This week, "WWE SmackDown" is set to return to the USA Network for the first time since 2019, and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque is kicking the show off with a major title match.

According to Levesque, Friday's "SmackDown" will open with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defending his title in a steel cage against Solo Sikoa. Many fans likely expected the announced world championship match to main event the show; Levesque was tight-lipped about what might follow it.

"For the rest of it, you'll just have to wait and see. See you then," Levesque said.

Rhodes is fresh off a defense against Kevin Owens at Bash In Berlin. The last match between Sikoa and Rhodes, at SummerSlam, featured numerous interferences, including Roman Reigns, who speared the ersatz "Tribal Chief" to help Rhodes retain the title. Rhodes has been champion since April when he dethroned Reigns on Night 2 of WrestleMania 40.

"SmackDown" is moving to USA after five years on the Fox network. The move is the first of a game of musical chairs for WWE's media rights, as USA Network is gaining "SmackDown" just weeks before the network loses "WWE NXT" to The CW on October 1. USA will then lose "WWE Raw" on January 6, as the flagship program will debut on Netflix in 2025. Starting in October, "Raw" will be shortened to two hours until the Netflix debut, as WWE had to extend its deal with the USA Network to cover the gap between the expiration of that deal and the start of the Netflix deal in 2025.

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