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Not only were General Manager Nick Aldis and The Ring General unhappy about the same, but Cody Rhodes himself was unhappy about how things played out.
As a result, the SmackDown GM restarted the match a second time with a proper referee, only to have Sami Zayn interfere in the business and attack Gunther, giving the heel star a taste of his own medicine. But this cost Rhodes his match by DQ, as The Ring General was attacked.
This ultimately led to General Manager Nick Aldis officially announcing a triple threat match for the Undisputed WWE Championship between Zayn, Rhodes, and Gunther at Night of Champions 2026 Premium Live Event in Saudi Arabia.
In this article, we will take a look at three potential reasons why The American Nightmare lost the Undisputed Championship match on SmackDown:
#3. Gunther couldn’t afford to take another WWE loss
The Ring General has been seen as one of the major stars in Triple H’s WWE era, and his unstoppable push is the living proof of it.
The Career K*ller had defeated three major legends in their retirement matches: Goldberg, AJ Styles, and John Cena; the wins over the legends had elevated him into one of the massive forces on the active roster.
He had already lost a match against Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy 2026. His losing to the American Nightmare in a rematch would have been a momentum-killer for him. Also, it would have ruined all three legends’ passing-the-torch moment by losing to him in their retirement matches.
That said, the Ring General couldn’t afford to lose, and WWE had to pull something off which could have saved The Career K*ller’s character and The Protgal Son’s title reign.
#2. To set up a Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions
Following the chaos Sami Zayn created in the Rhodes vs. Gunther match-up, The American Nightmare was furious.
He approached General Manager Nick Aldis backstage, where things were being worked out, and he suggested that there was only one way to fix all this: a triple threat match.
Aldis liked the idea and made the triple threat match against Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes, and Gunther for the Undisputed Championship at Night of Champions 2026 premium live event. Rhodes losing due to Sami Zayn was indeed a perfect setup for the triple threat match at NoC.
#1. Heavily protected
Given that Gunther is one of Triple H’s top guys in the Stamford-based promotion, and he consecutively lost to Cody Rhodes for the second time.
Given that The Ring General is heavily protected, The Game and his WWE creative team came up with the controversial outcome of the bout on Friday Night SmackDown. The result of the rematch between Gunther and Cody Rhodes was indeed a thrilling addition to their saga.
The Career K*ller being protected had also added a big what-if for their upcoming triple-threat Undisputed WWE Championship rematch this weekend. This may be another reason for the Hall of Famer CCO protecting The Ring General and beating The Protegal Son via DQ with Sami’s interference.
That being said, with the Night of Champions 2026 premium live event taking place in Saudi Arabia this weekend, The American Nightmare and The Ring General’s saga has become more chaotic due to Sami Zayn’s interference.
Also, both the King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring 2026 final matches are being officially booked between Oba Femi vs. Jey Uso and Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY. It will be interesting to see what plans Triple H and his WWE creative team have in store for the PLE and how it would shape the future of the Stamford-based promotion. Only time will tell.
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