Cody Rhodes cannot rest on his laurels despite clinching the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40. He has a target on his back after assuming championship status. His Backlash 2024 match against AJ Styles is merely a few hours away. Nevertheless, the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion is already picking his next ‘big’ opponent to feud with.

The Stamford-based company appeared live a few hours ago on ‘X’ to discuss the ‘Culture, Connection, and Creative’ in the promotion moving forward. This is when Rhodes talked about a talent that he thinks will prove to be a major rival to him in the future.

Cody Rhodes teases the next big archenemy

Apart from The Tribal Chief, Cody Rhodes has had another big rivalry with Brock Lesnar in 2023. The two had three bouts to settle their score together and The American Nightmare eventually came out on top. Now, Rhodes believes that he might engage in a major feud with Gunther. Interestingly, The Imperium leader was slated to be Lesnar’s opponent before plans were shunned. The latter lost the Intercontinental Championship at Mania this year, leaving fans hoping that donning a world title is next for him. Rhodes said on the live, “So I’ll go ahead and say that Gunther is just out in the ether. And I do think that he and I are probably destined to clash at some point.”

Trending

Tiffany Stratton’s Wardrobe Malfunction on Live TV Comes to Light During Bianca Belair Match

Triple H’s Stance on Tiffany Stratton’s “Black B**ch” Comment on Jade Cargill Revealed

“Significant Situation”: Tiffany Stratton’s Fate Revealed Under Paul Levesque Following Controversial Video Backlash

Major Update on Bianca Belair’s Pregnancy Rumors Given Ahead of Jade Cargill Queen of the Ring Match

What Is “Veiledrood” From Uncle Howdy’s Latest QR Code on SmackDown?

He went on to add, “He’s somebody, just in the brief time we touched the Royal Rumble, that I got a sense this could be a major opponent for me at some point down the road. Gunther had expressed his desire to go up against The Beast at some point in his WWE career. However, now grander plans involving a world title could await him.

For now, The American Nightmare will face AJ Styles in France on the 4th of May. The possibility is that he will retain during the PLE. If he does, there will be more future feuds waiting for him. However, the possibility of The Ring General snatching away his gold could be higher since this outcome has already garnered pace.

Industry insiders support Gunther’s victory over Cody Rhodes

In a recent podcast by Fightful, the co-hosts were discussing the future of the former AEW EVP’s title. Even though Denise Salcedo and Kate overlooked AJ Styles’ probability of winning the title at Backlash this year, they focused on how Gunther could end up snatching it away from Rhodes eventually. While we have no confirmations or reports about this being a creative direction that WWE wishes to take, the co-hosts confessed that they believe this to be the ‘right next move’.

Do you think Gunther could be booked as Cody Rhodes’ next big rival? What did you make of the champion’s words on the potential challenger? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.