WWE Champion Cody Rhodes is the latest name to make a bold prediction ahead of the upcoming Jake Paul v Mike Tyson fight in Texas.
YouTuber turned boxer Paul faces the most high-profile moment of his career when he steps into the ring with the heavyweight boxing legend in July.
WWE United States Champion Logan Paul has never been short of a few words during his title reignCredit: WWE
One of the most talked-about clashes of the year sees a 58-year-old step back between the ropes in an officially sanctioned meeting with the starlet who is more than 30 years his junior.
Opinions on the titanic tussle have flowed aplenty in the lengthy build the AT&T Stadium spectacle, not least in WWE where Paul’s brother, Logan wrestles as the United States Champion on SmackDown.
The Maverick himself has his own major match coming up – he meets Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the company’s King and Queen of the Ring event next weekend which takes place in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Super Dome.
Rhodes and Paul faced off in the ring once again on SmackDown this week, just seven days after the 29-year-old upstart impressed fans with his abilities on the microphone in stepping up to relative veteran Rhodes.
This time it was the turn of Rhodes to lay down some truths, with the American Nightmare laying it on thick for Paul in a stinging blast that included a bold reference to the Tyson outing.
Rhodes made clear he expects to walk out of King and Queen of the Ring with his championship intact, but was adamant boxing icon Tyson will fare far better in his outing.
After tempers boiled over in the ring, Rhodes said: “Let me tell you something, you fly-by-night human hat rack.
“Here’s the situation: the honeymoon with you is over, I’ve seen you do a flip, whoopdie do.
Logan Paul and Cody Rhodes traded words during the ‘contract’ signing for their upcoming match in Saudi ArabiaCredit: WWE
“After our match at King and Queen of the ring, you will find out exactly who Logan Paul is on the inside.”
Rhodes added: “In eight days [sic], a WWE Hall of Famer is going to knock your brother out, and in Saudi Arabia, a future WWE Hall of Famer is going to beat you.”
The verbal volley from Rhodes came either side of some classic WWE action to set up the title match for King and Queen of the ring.
Their bout had been teased – though not confirmed – as being a title for title match where both the Undisputed WWE Championship and the United States gold would be on the line.
That always seemed unlikely, and the expected storyline exit from that scenario duly emerged, with Paul sneakily claiming to have wrangled the legal side of the match ‘contract’ to ensure only Rhodes would have to put his gold up for grabs.
That was much to the frustration of brit GM Nick Aldis and the live crowd, but an infuriated Rhodes signed the contract in any case.
Sure enough, physicality then followed as Paul tried to take a sneaky swipe at the fan favourite, only for Rhodes to dodge the attack and the influencer to tuck tail and run after being clotheslined over the top rope.
.@CodyRhodes IS ON A RAMPAGE! 😤
Things are getting heated ahead of #WWEKingAndQueen 🔥#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/PbvFpq6uvB
— WWE (@WWE) May 18, 2024
Paul swiftly disappeared when things turned physical with Rhodes, but one of his ‘team’ took a heavy hit on his behalfCredit: WWE
One of the challenger’s entourage for the night duly paid the price for that, taking a brutal looking powerbomb through a table from Rhodes for good measure.
Friday night’s SmackDown also saw advances for Randy Orton, Nia Jax, Bianca Belair and Tama Tonga in the respective King and Queen of the Ring tournaments.
