Ricky Saints Confronts Cody Rhodes In WWE Smackdown Debut Segment

Ricky Saints made his debut on this week’s episode of WWE Smackdown and made a statement of his intentions toward Cody Rhodes and the Undisputed WWE Title. Friday night’s show opened with Rhodes making his way down to the ring. Rhodes announced that he is officially cleared to compete after the wounds he suffered in his match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42. He noted that since he can now compete, he needs to find his next challenger.

Rhodes was then interrupted by Saints, who made his way down to the ring. Saints said that the fans were booing what they don’t understand, and then introduced himself. He pointed out the history between himself and Rhodes before saying that he is leading the revolution and declaring the night “Friday Night Saints.”

Rhodes then said he’s glad to see Saints on Friday nights but then asked what was different from the last time Saints stepped up to him. Saints said Rhodes was the one that is different, having aged through his title reigns. He said that he was there to relieve Rhodes of his duties as champion. That led to a match being set up between the two of them for tonight.

You can see a clip from the segment below. Saints is making his debut on Smackdown after being called up from NXT, where he was a former NXT Champion and NXT North American Champion.

We're getting @starkmanjones vs. @CodyRhodes TONIGHT! 👏 pic.twitter.com/GXbh0XRJFD

— WWE (@WWE) May 2, 2026