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Cody Rhodes Retains Undisputed WWE Championship On WWE Smackdown

June 19, 2026 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
WWE Smackdown Cody Rhodes 6-19-26 Image Credit: WWE

Cody Rhodes is still your Undisputed WWE Champion, retaining the title against Gunther on WWE Smackdown amid involvement by guest referee Sami Zayn. Friday night’s episode opened with Rhodes putting his championship on the line against the Ring General, with Zayn serving as the referee for the match.

The match, which went almost 11 and a half minutes, saw the two go toe to toe with Zayn overseeing the action. Zayn prevented both men from breaking the rules early on, though he took a little longer than might have been expected to notice Gunther with his hand on the ropes to force a rope break from a figure four leglock.

Gunther argued with Zayn and the tension began to ratchet up between them. Zayn yanked Gunther off of a sleeper when Rhodes got to the ropes and the two argued again, which went physical when Gunther shoved Zayn and pie-faced him, leading to Zayn slapping Gunther and then taking a powerbomb.

The match continued on and Gunther hit a folding powerbomb, but Zayn pulled the new referee out of the ring. Gunther blocked a sunset flip but Zayn kicked the challenger’s hands off the ropes and then fast counted the pinfall to give Rhodes the win.

After the bell, Nick Aldis came down unhappy with how the match played out. Rhodes demanded that the match be restarted, but the restarted bout didn’t last long as Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Gunther to cause the disqualification. He then attacked the referee, and accidentally hit Rhodes with the tile post-match. You can see clips from the match below.

Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship reign, his third, now stands at 106 days. He won the title back from Drew McIntyre on the March 6th episode of WWE Smackdown.

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Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Sami Zayn, WWE Smackdown, Jeremy Thomas

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