WWE Night Of Champions 2026: 8 Nightmares That Could Come True
4. Gunther & Sami Zayn Look Like Idiots
On paper, Cody Rhodes has backed himself into a corner at NOC. He was the one who asked SmackDown GM Nick Aldis to put him in a Triple Threat against both Gunther and Sami Zayn here, and he did it all wearing a backwards cap because Cody is clearly the hippest cat this side of 2010 John Cena. OK, not really. He's cooler than JC was back then!
Now, a balancing act begins. It must look like Rhodes is right up against it vs. 2 top tier challengers who represent a real threat to his WWE Title. At the same time, neither Gunther nor Sami can afford to look like total morons who take their eyes off the prize because they've got history. Gunther kinda did that by handpicking Zayn as special guest ref recently on SmackDown, which was very out of character for the 'Ring General'.
He really should've seen problems coming a mile off.
This should be a hot match by default, because we've got 3 of the best characters in the entire industry in play here, but nightmare thoughts are negative as a general rule. The disasterpiece outcome for this bout is that both heels come across as chumps who are more Wile E. Coyote than anyone would care to admit.
If Cody scoots around the place thumbing his nose at them like wrestling's very own Road Runner, then this could degenerate a little too far into lame comedy for such an intense situation. No-one will want to see that, and it's the last thing Sami Zayn needs after that Gingerbread Man chaos.
Less 'ha ha' and more classic wrestling goodness, please.