After two weeks of mutual respect but contained tension, AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes finally engaged in a bout on WWE Backlash, with Rhodes retaining his Universal championship. But the main set-up two of the match began on the last segment of SmackDown before Backlash, as the two men finally had a physical interaction when The Phenomenal One slapped Rhodes.

This led to pure heat building up between the two, which led to a lot of taunting in between their match. And one taunt in particular made Styles drop an NSFW word in-ring for the world to see.

AJ Styles loses his patience and hurls an expletive at Cody Rhodes during clash at Backlash

During the match between Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles, the atmosphere in and around the ring was as electric as it could be. The two superstars loved playing with the audience, their taunts getting reactions from the other as well as the crowd in attendance. So it surely led to a lot of verbal abuses inside the ring. And during one particular moment, The American Nightmare got in touch with this inner Stardust. He cartwheeled and did the star gesture that was the symbol of his old gimmick. This led the Phenomenal One to swear in the ring as he called Rhodes a “Motherf**ker”.

However, in the end, Cody Rhodes successfully defended the WWE Undisputed Championship for the first time against AJ Styles. The match was almost 30 minutes long and the crowd responded by providing one of the greatest atmospheres ever seen in a wrestling show. Now that the former AEW star has cleared the hurdle that is Styles, he has another wrestler in mind that he wants to face.

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The American Nightmare outlines the next hurdle he wants to overcome

At the post-Backlash press conference, Cody Rhodes revealed that L.A. Knight is a talent he wants to battle to see who truly is “the man”. The American Nightmare said, “LA Knight is somebody that I look at because — I get it, ‘they’re two good guys.’ I understand that. But there’s a flavor there. There’s something about it.”

LA Knight hasn’t been part of the Backlash card, though he was on the verge of becoming a part of it. But it was precisely AJ Styles who deprived him of being on the show after defeating him on SmackDown for a title opportunity against Rhodes. Now that the WWE Draft has passed and the two are still on the same brand, there is a possibility that the Rhodes’ and Knight’s paths will cross at some point. What do you think? Do you want the two to fight for the title? Let us know in the comments.