Cody Rhodes Sends a Message to Royce Keys After Tough Loss to Gunther on SmackDown

Cody Rhodes‘ next challenger for the Undisputed WWE title at Clash in Italy was determined on SmackDown this past Friday. Gunther looked primed for it until he overplayed his hand and got himself booked into a number one contender’s match with Royce Keys in the main event.

Keys showed glimpses of his top-star potential by keeping pace with ‘The Ring General’ and even outmaneuvering him at times. Gunther took advantage of Solo Sikoa distracting Keys and picked up the win to book a date with Rhodes in Turin on May 31.

After SmackDown went off air, ‘The QB1’ embraced Keys and raised his hand to every section of the arena. The former EVP of AEW also posted on his Instagram Stories that he was proud of the erstwhile Powerhouse Hobbs. For the unversed, these men have known each other since their time in AEW.

Cody Rhodes is proud of Royce Keys pic.twitter.com/rjyMlmy8WF

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) May 16, 2026

They have maintained a close friendship since that point on. The former AEW TNT Champion revealed on Stephanie McMahon‘s podcast earlier this year that Cody Rhodes dropped everything and called to check on him when Keys informed Rhodes about his mother’s deteriorating health.

Royce Keys says Cody Rhodes dropped everything to support him in the lead up to his mother's passing:

"I remember getting on the phone and I called Cody to tell him. I didn’t know what to do… I guess maybe Cody thought I was talking about wrestling because I always bug him… pic.twitter.com/JC5tZBu7jE

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) February 19, 2026

Rhodes’ first daughter would’ve been just a month old back then, but that didn’t keep him from stepping up to help his friend in a time when he needed it the most. It’s pretty obvious to assume that ‘The Prodigal Son’ couldn’t have been happier to see Royce Keys arrive in WWE and, consequently, strive to make a name for himself in front of a much bigger wrestling audience than he’d been in front of before.

‘The Bay Area Big Man’ debuted in this year’s Royal Rumble match. He didn’t immediately get assigned to Raw or SmackDown and had to wait until April for his first singles match in WWE. Keys would then win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal the night before WrestleMania as his first significant accolade in WWE.

Gunther looks to upstage Cody Rhodes in Turin

While some fans found the Cody Rhodes vs. Royce Keys showdown more enticing than Gunther in the mix, it doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. In the meantime, ‘The American Nightmare’ has to deal with a man who’s still riding on the high of retiring some era-defining greats like Goldberg, AJ Styles, and John Cena.

After a year-long championship drought, Gunther wants to put some good around his waist once again. The former Imperium leader was owed a favor from Paul Heyman, who negotiated this WWE title match for him against Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy. Heyman told the WWE champ that he had nothing else to do with the Austrian. The latter had jumped Rhodes three weeks ago and left him unconscious.

Gunther tried replicating it a week later but got intercepted the second time around. The longest-reigning NXT UK Champion even had to retreat from a riled-up Rhodes. And their most recent interaction saw the erstwhile Walter demand some grace and professionalism from Rhodes. The Vienna-born wrestler alleged that the so-called golden boy of WWE always finds a way to make everything about himself.

When he was supposed to simply step into the ring and sign the contract that was laid out for him, Gunther was delaying the inevitable. It cost him momentarily, and he almost let the WWE title shot slip away by inadvertently fomenting Royce Keys’ wrath. ‘The Career Killer’ had his night ended by eating a Cross Rhodes from the champ.

‘The Ring General’ will now be counting down the days until Clash in Italy. It’s worth noting that he might have the crowd on his side that night due to the show being held in Europe. Would that be enough to make a dent in Cody Rhodes‘ ongoing title reign? There’s not much time left to find that out.

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