SPOILER: Former WWE and TNA champion to confront Cody Rhodes on SmackDown

Cody Rhodes will be appearing in the tapings for the December 26, 2025, episode of SmackDown. Be warned that this article contains spoilers for next Friday, and will talk about Cody Rhodes getting confronted by a multi-time WWE champion and a former TNA champion.

Next week’s taping will see Cody Rhodes come across Trick Williams in the office of Nick Aldis. The General Manager previously introduced The American Nightmare to Ricky Saints and Oba Femi in a similar way ahead of NXT Deadline.

The black and silver brand's wrestlers competed for the NXT Championship at the premium live event to get a chance to face Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025. Femi got the win against Saints to become a two-time NXT Champion, and even overcame Je'Von Evans in his maiden defense as the new champ.

However, his SNME match against Rhodes ended in a disqualification after interference from Drew McIntyre. Now, it seems Trick Williams could go against Cody Rhodes after this segment, which has been taped for next week.

Trick Williams is a former two-time NXT Champion, NXT North American Champion, and also had the TNA World Championship in May, becoming the first WWE contracted wrestler to win a title in the promotion.

According to a report by Cory Hayes of BodySlam, Williams has been added to WWE SmackDown's internal roster.

Cody Rhodes refused to listen to Nick Aldis

This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown saw Nick Aldis confronting Cody Rhodes in an in-ring segment. The GM told The American Nightmare that, since he attacked Drew McIntyre at his house, he was forced to accept a bad deal. Aldis noted that Rhodes isn’t allowed even to touch McIntyre now when he returns.

The Undisputed Champion asked what would happen if he didn’t comply, and the GM said that he would strip his title if he went against his instructions. Aldis said that Rhodes is the champ and his good friend, but he isn’t above the law.

Angered by this, QB1 said that the GM seems to have forgotten who he is speaking to. He noted that he won the Royal Rumble twice, uprooted the OTC Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL, and defeated John Cena to become Undisputed Champion.

Rhodes also said that as long as he held his title, he was the law. He also remarked that he didn’t work for Aldis; instead, the GM worked for him. It would be interesting to see what lies ahead for The American Nightmare.

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Edited by Angana Roy