Cody Rhodes saved John Cena from having his WWE Championship stripped in his biggest mistake on SmackDown

On WWE SmackDown, John Cena met Cody Rhodes in the ring for a contract signing. The events that followed saved Cena from a rather embarrassing fate.

Will Cena end up having to thank Cody Rhodes for this, instead of being upset with him, though? This may be a question that's never answered.

John Cena may have been stripped of the WWE Championship after SmackDown if not for Cody Rhodes

John Cena was supposed to face Rhodes for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam after the latter won the King of the Ring Tournament to earn the spot. It was a hard-won spot, and not one he was readily willing to let go. They were supposed to sign a contract for the match, but Cena came and said otherwise. He said that he was filming a movie and wouldn't be available at SummerSlam. He tried to sound reasonable, but in reality, it was anything but that.

Cody Rhodes had enough and attacked Cena, making him lose consciousness before forcing his hand to sign the WWE contract. While some have questioned the legitimacy of such a contract signing, Cody Rhodes may have actually saved Cena from a more humiliating fate of having the WWE Championship stripped from him. WWE has a history of stripping a star of their title if they are unable to defend it. Their own rule of a defense every 30 days is something that has been called in several times.

WWE has taken the title off other stars recently

When stars are injured or unable to compete, they have had to give up the title several times, with Liv Morgan being the most recent example.

Following SmackDown and his announcement that he would not be able to defend his title, the same fate may have waited for John Cena, but thankfully for him, Rhodes' attack means that the match is now on.

Inadvertently, Rhodes has ensured that his reign as the "last-ever" legitimate champion does not come to an anticlimactic end.

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Edited by Neda Ali