Overview
- SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis announced in a video post that Cody Rhodes will face Randy Orton on September 6 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Sunday Night's Main Event.
- WWE is currently promoting the bout as a straight singles match with no added stipulation announced at this time.
- The match follows Orton’s return and his interference at SummerSlam, when he attacked Rhodes and cost him a title opportunity, and it ties back to their long history that included Orton punt-kicking Rhodes after WrestleMania 42.
- Rhodes is not the WWE champion going into the match—he lost the title at Night of Champions, Sami Zayn had a brief run, and CM Punk currently holds and has been defending the belt—so the contest is narrative-driven rather than for the title.
- Coverage expects the September bout to be an opening chapter rather than a finale, with the program likely to escalate through added stipulations or further attacks and possibly culminate at Survivor Series: War Games, which could also affect Rhodes’s plans around his upcoming movie promotion.