Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa Undisputed title match official for WWE SummerSlam
The heated rivalry between Cody Rhodes and The Bloodline will continue at next month’s WWE SummerSlam as the promotion officially announced Wednesday that Rhodes will defend his Universal title against Solo Sikoa.
Rhodes agreed to the bout at the end of last Friday’s SmackDown, pending GM Nick Aldis’ storyline approval. A brawl then broke out between Rhodes, Sikoa and the rest of The Bloodline members. Randy Orton attempted to assist Rhodes, but was taken out and put through a table as Rhodes was forced to watch.
The PLE is set for Saturday, August 3rd from Cleveland, Ohio’s Browns Stadium.
After Roman Reigns’ defeat to Rhodes at this year’s WrestleMania, the former record-setting champion has disappeared and Sikoa subsequently elevated himself as the new Tribal Chief with the rapidly-changing faction that now includes Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu.
In a trios bout at this month’s Money in the Bank, Sikoa pinned Rhodes to help put the match into motion. The two have wrestled several times since March 2023 with two of them on TV (Raw in March 2023, SmackDown in June 2024). Sikoa has yet to beat him.
Rhodes has defended the title three times since his WrestleMania win.
Here’s the current SummerSlam card with both official and expected matches based on recent TV:
- WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Solo Sikoa
- WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damien Priest defends against Gunther
- WWE Women’s Champion Bayley defends against Nia Jax
- WWE Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against Rhea Ripley
- WWE U.S. Champion Logan Paul defends against LA Knight
- CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.