Nick Aldis has made Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton official for Sunday, September the 6th, on Sunday Night's Main Event in Atlanta, Georgia. The match gives a WrestleMania 42 rematch a date less than three weeks before the first Sunday Night's Main Event.
Sunday Night in Atlanta
Nick Aldis said he had followed through on the promise he made to Cody Rhodes on SmackDown Friday night, and the match was put on the calendar less than 24 hours later. That kind of turnaround matters because it moves the feud out of chaos and into a scheduled main event slot, with Sunday Night's Main Event carrying the next chapter instead of another surprise run-in.
In April, Cody Rhodes left Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with the WWE Championship still around his waist. Earlier this month, he was not able to leave SummerSlam in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the WWE Championship after Randy Orton returned and attacked him, costing him the chance to win it back from CM Punk.
Boston, Massachusetts fallout
On Friday night in Boston, Massachusetts, Rhodes was scheduled to face Sami Zayn in the main event of SmackDown, but Orton attacked him from behind as Zayn was making his entrance. Rhodes and Orton fought all over TD Garden, and the disruption set up the official match announcement that followed.
CM Punk told Rhodes that he could have a rematch for the WWE Championship whenever he wanted one, but Rhodes said he had other business to tend to first. That exchange left Rhodes with two paths in front of him: chase the title immediately, or settle the Orton problem before he circles back to Punk and the WWE Championship.
The September 6 reset
Nick Aldis posted after SmackDown: "I’m pleased to announce that I have followed through on the promise I made to Cody [Friday] night on SmackDown when I told him I would do everything I could to make it happen. I am here today to tell you that I have made it happen. Sunday, September the 6th, Sund" The truncated statement still lands on the same point: Rhodes and Orton now have a fixed date, and the rematch is no longer a chase story, it is a booked match.
For Rhodes, that shifts the issue from retaliation to execution. For Orton, it turns a backstage-style ambush into something with an ending scheduled in Atlanta, Georgia, and it leaves the WWE Championship question hanging where it belongs, after the rematch is settled.
