This weekend, Cody Rhodes opened up WWE’s latest edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event with another successful title defense over current rival Drew McIntyre. If he isn’t in this year’s men’s War Games match, the WWE Undisputed Champ will surely be in a featured bout in front of over 40,000 fans at Petco Park for Survivor Series.
So who could Rhodes face? Let’s take a look at five potential options, including a clash with long-time friend Randy Orton.
Aleister Black
Aleister Black has been a featured part of SmackDown for weeks and has scored some big wins over former heavyweight champ Damian Priest during that time. It would be classic WWE booking if they continued that hot streak and had him win his way into a No. 1 contender spot soon. He wouldn’t beat Rhodes in their title match, but it would be a way to test Black’s potential as a main event talent in the years ahead.
Randy Orton
We all know a match betweenRhodes and Orton is coming, as the champ continues to lose his friends by being the QB1 of the company. Pulling the trigger on that matchup at Survivor Series would not be a surprise since the company is trying to sell out a baseball stadium for this month’s event. Similar to the champ’s feud with Kevin Owens last year, it could be the start of a total turn for Orton and more matchups in the months ahead.
Drew McIntyre
Would anyone be surprised if Rhodes and McIntyre’s feud continued after this weekend? Since the WWE Champ won after hitting the Scottish star with a DDT on the title belt — which McIntyre brought into the ring — the idea of him not being able to beat his rival clean could nag at him and easily set up a gimmick match to end the feud at Survivor Series.
Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn’s dance card is wide open after losing the United States title a few weeks back. There is a good chance he may be in this year’s War Games match again. But if he isn’t, a battle of respected friends could be a route the company goes for Rhodes’ next challenger. It might also be used as the start of a bigger story where Zayn becomes a fan-favorite in a journey to get another title shot by winning the Royal Rumble in January.
Damian Priest
There is a flipside to the Black and Priest storyline, and that is the New York native finally getting revenge on his rival, which sets up being a top challenger to Rhodes. Priest has taken some big losses over the last year. If WWE wants to maintain Priest as a main event player, he needs to start getting some big wins and being in featured PLE matches. Getting back in the title picture and facing the company’s biggest star would do that.
