WWE officially announces a ‘first-time-ever’ matchup for Cody Rhodes on next week’s Raw in Cleveland

The American Nightmare is set to go one-on-one with Shinsuke Nakamura next week.

WWE officially announces a ‘first-time-ever’ matchup for Cody Rhodes on next week’s Raw in Cleveland

Cody Rhodes on Raw [via- WWE on X]

The great state of Ohio is about to have a technical rendezvous in Cleveland next week. Having said that, Cody Rhodes will lock horns with Shinsuke Nakamura in a first-time-ever showdown by the time the calendar sheds out one-third of December. But how did this match come through? Officially, the fans got to know it last week, but it has been there for a while.

Going down memory lane, the weeks leading up to the year’s Survivor Series had The Artist known as Shinsuke Nakamura calling someone out through his cryptic promos in Japanese. The fans dreamt of the anonymous figure potentially being CM Punk. However, it was not to be, as The Straight Edge Superstar shocked the world in some vogue. So, once again, the question remained unanswered in Chicago.

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However, last week on Raw, after Cody Rhodes officially declared himself for next year’s Royal Rumble match, the lights went off. Moreover, the big Titantron screen was Shinsuke Nakamura.

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After a while, the arena lit up again. Thits time, Nakamura blindsided Cody with a gush of poison mist on his face. Last night in Albany, The American Nightmare demanded some answers from the Japanese wrestler. And the latter did provide a solid one.

Shin compared his career trajectory to that of Rhodes, as both won the Royal Rumble matches and failed to get the job done in their respective shots at WrestleMania. Though Cody is still hellbent on finishing his story, Nakamura lost track of it back in the day. And now, the Kyoto-based wrestler doesn’t want Rhodes to do what Shin simply couldn’t.

Why having Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura on Raw is a big deal for WWE?

With no PLE in December, WWE has had a notorious way of dealing with their weekly shows in recent years. Usually, when Vince McMahon used to call the shots, the period heading into the holiday season didn’t have much substance on television.

Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura next week on Raw [via- WWE]

WWE seems to be working to make the proverbial off-season memorable for their fans. Having a premium live event-worthy contest between Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura on a random Raw episode in December is a prime example of things improving for the better.

Also, it falls in Cleveland, a prominent wrestling market in the United States. If things do work out as planned, Cody vs. Nakamura has the potential to close an already affluent year for WWE on a high note.

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