Cody Rhodes’ Opponent Decided For WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event

Cody Rhodes will wrestle at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13.

On the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown, the WWE Universe found out that Rhodes will have a match at SNME next week. It was decided that either Ricky Saints or Oba Femi would challenge The American Nightmare in a singles bout.

On NXT Deadline this past Saturday, Ricky Saints lost the NXT Championship to Oba Femi. As a result, Femi will wrestle Rhodes at SNME on December 13, 2025, from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., in a champion vs champion match. The bout will be a non-title match.

The December 13 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event will also see John Cena wrestle the last match of his active wrestling career. He will face Gunther, who beat LA Knight on SmackDown to become his retirement opponent. The night will also feature a singles match between Sol Ruca and Bayley.

The card thus far for Saturday Night’s Main Event:

• John Cena vs. Gunther (Cena’s Retirement Match)

• Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi

• Bayley vs. Sol Ruca#SNMEpic.twitter.com/plbIWMBpBI

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) December 7, 2025

WWE’s Initial Plans For Saturday Night’s Main Event

WWE initially wanted to dedicate the whole SNME night to John Cena as a tribute to the legendary star, but Cena refused to hog the spotlight from other talents. He urged WWE to incorporate new talents and put some spotlight on them, too.

I actually suggested that instead of like a tribute and spending the whole show based around like, okay, this is the past, I wanted to have my final match, which I’ll get my chunk of time, and then dedicate the rest of the show to the future.

So if you tune in to Saturday Night’s Main Event on Peacock on the 13th, you’ll see my final in-ring performance, but you’ll also get a grip. You’ll get a look at the major WWE Superstars facing future stars.

Because the way I came into the business was a major star, a gold medalist, was like open challenge to anyone. And me, no name, came walking out there. And that was the start of this crazy ride.

So, 23 years later, I kind of want to return the favor. And you’re going to see some technical minor leaguers step up to the plate and see if they can get an impact.