WWE Announces Cody Rhodes Title Defense For Saturday Night's Main Event

For the last few months, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has been on a collision course with former friend turned enemy Kevin Owens. A title match between the two has been such an obvious destination that the question wasn't whether the match would happen, but when it would happen, with Survivor Series or the returning Saturday Night's Main Event special seen as the leaders in the clubhouse.

As it turns out, it will be the latter. WWE announced today that Rhodes' next championship defense will come against Owens at "Saturday Night's Main Event," on December 14, confirming a report yesterday that the match was set for the special. The bout promises to be a more heated encounter than their first match earlier this year, where Rhodes defeated Owens to retain the championship at Bash in Berlin, with the two seemingly reaffirming their friendship afterward.

Instead, things went downhill almost immediately between the two, with Owens growing resentful of Rhodes after the latter formed a tense alliance with former rival Roman Reigns, as they looked to combat Solo Sikoa's Bloodline. Owens' resentment towards Rhodes finally exploded in a full on betrayal following WWE Bad Blood, where he and Rhodes were spotted brawling in the parking lot after the show.

While another successful title defense will be at the forefront of Rhodes' mind, he'll also be fighting to avenge his friend Randy Orton, who got caught up in Rhodes and Owens' issues by trying to play peacemaker. Instead, Orton was sent on the shelf for his troubles after Owens laid him out with a Piledriver on "SmackDown" a few weeks back, reaggravating Orton's neck issues.