Why Cody Rhodes Got DESTROYED After WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
'The American Nightmare's diagnosis was bleak after Kevin Owens' brutal attack
Cody Rhodes left WWE Saturday Night's Main Event in an ambulance following a post-match attack by Kevin Owens that featured his first ever use of the package piledriver in the company.
The beating wasn't just after the bell, but after the show went off the air. Shots circulated on social media in the aftermath featuring Owens drilling 'The American Nightmare' with the move, attacking him as he was strapped into a stretcher and leaving with the Winged Eagle belt Cody had used as his WWE Title for the night. He also got into a physical alteration with Triple H before leaving the scene. Per its official channels, WWE confirmed that Rhodes was in rough shape, reporting on X that:
BREAKING: Earlier today it was confirmed that @CodyRhodes suffered cervical swelling and was kept overnight at a local hospital for observation. While X-Rays were negative for a fracture, Rhodes has been officially diagnosed with axial compression of the cervical spine, as well as a cervical strain with spasm.
It made for a captivating storyline, but there was more to the angle, as revealed hours later.
What Really Happened Between Cody Rhodes & Kevin Owens
Per the ever-reliable Fightful Select, the move to hospitalise Cody was down to the reduced taping cycle over the holiday period and the need to explain certain absences. As the report put it;
"WWE talent are about to head off on their holiday break following WWE Raw, which led to the company doing a double taping of Smackdown this past week. This created a natural conflict, as Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes couldn't film anything in front of the crowd to give away the result of their match that would happen the next night. We're told the post-show attack from Kevin Owens was done to help bridge the gap next week. The Smackdown crowd got to see Cody Rhodes and Owens in front of the live audience, so getting creative with their segments for next week's show doesn't leave the audience out in the cold. As of this weekend, the plan was to air the attack on Smackdown, and have Kevin Owens in a backstage segment."
Owens attacked Cody on the aforementioned SNME go-home edition of SmackDown as a final act before the match, and this week's taped edition will presumably reveal what consequences may occur for each man as a result.