Why 'The Last Real Good Guy' Should Win the Undisputed WWE Title at Night of Champions 2026

This past episode of Friday Night SmackDown took place in Kansas City, Missouri. The show opened with Cody Rhodes defending his title against Gunther as a rematch from the controversial finish from Clash in Italy last month. What makes that loss controversial is that the former World Heavyweight Champion had his foot underneath the bottom rope during the final three-count. A referee is supposed to stop the count since that is considered a rope break. The referee during that match did not see Gunther’s foot, which left him irate post-match and demanding another title shot under one condition. The Undisputed WWE Champion obliged, and ‘The Ring General’ revealed on last week’s episode of SmackDown that he wanted Sami Zayn to be the guest referee of the rematch.

The three have been entangled in an awkward triangle for the past several weeks, and this episode of SmackDown proved to be the boiling point of the storyline. Zayn has taken issue with the way Rhodes has treated him since then. Gunther has challenged Rhodes numerous times, demanding respect and stipulations to get to their inevitable match before losing against the ‘American Nightmare’ at this year’s Clash in Italy. The controversy in this week’s episode of SmackDown started when the ‘Last Real Good Guy’ allowed Gunther to hit Rhodes off the rope break, but wouldn’t do the same for Rhodes. This allowed the ‘Ring General’ to get in a few massive, cheap shots that changed the momentum of the match. The ‘American Nightmare’ would eventually hit a Cross Rhodes similar to the one at Clash in Italy. The former Intercontinental Champion was on his way to a three-count before noticing Gunther’s foot was under the ropes like Clash in Italy.

Unlike that event, Zayn would stop his count and explain the situation to the Undisputed WWE Champion, who was visibly upset with the call. The former friends would begin to get physical with each other, and Zayn would accidentally shove Rhodes into a Gunther Sleeper Hold that nearly won him the bout. The former World Heavyweight Champion would get mad at his guest referee and Powerbomb him as a form of punishment. Another referee would come out to temporarily officiate, and Gunther hit the current champ with a devastating Powerbomb. This would’ve won him the match had Zayn not come back and dragged the replacement referee out from the bottom rope. This infuriated Gunther too much, and it would reach a supposed climax when Rhodes attempted a Sunset Flip rollup pin and was being countered by Gunther, who grabbed the ropes before Zayn came into the ring, kicked Gunther’s hands to break his grip on the ropes, and performed a fast three-count to help Rhodes retain his WWE Undisputed Championship.

The story wouldn’t stop there, though. The three would meet backstage and yell at SmackDown’s general manager, Nick Aldis. Rhodes eventually left them to walk back out to the ring and call for an immediate rematch. He felt his victory wasn’t earned properly, which caused Zayn to completely lose his mind. Aldis and Gunther would agree to the champ’s request, and another bout would unfold in front of the surprised Kansas City audience. The match would be stopped shortly after when Rhodes shoved ‘The Ring General’ into the turnbuckle while in a Sleeper Hold, putting Gunther in a perfect position for an irate Zayn to hit a Helluva Kick and stop the match via disqualification. The replacement referee from before would attempt to hand ‘The American Nightmare’ his belt. The ‘Last Real Good Guy’ would intercept and punch the referee before accidentally smashing the champ with the title over his head. Zayn was losing it, causing him to go backstage in a state of disbelief.

This was the predominant angle of the episode, evolving throughout the show. Gunther demanded that Aldis book another rematch with Rhodes for his title, saying that he got screwed over once again, just like he was at Clash in Italy. Shortly after, Rhodes demanded Aldis to book a Triple Threat Match at this year’s Night of Champions in Riyadh next weekend for his Undisputed WWE Championship between himself, Gunther, and Zayn. He’s been getting tired of catering to Zayn for the past couple of years and dealing with Gunther for the past several weeks. Zayn would later be spotted venting to Johnny Gargano about his ongoing issues. SmackDown’s general manager would find the ‘Last Real Good Guy’ and berate him for doing a terrible job at refereeing the championship bout. Zayn would retaliate with his own gripes of Aldis, ending it by saying that although he was dragged into the undisputed WWE title picture, he wouldn’t be leaving the scene any time soon.

Zayn deserves the Undisputed WWE Championship. His hard work in the independent scene, along with agreeing to and overdelivering on Vince McMahon’s questionable booking of his character, has placed him as one of WWE’s unsung heroes. From his long-term frenemy relationship with Kevin Owens to his time as United States Champion and Intercontinental Champion, Zayn has made the most with whatever hand he’s been dealt. He’s a great in-ring worker with a wide array of moves and the ability to make anyone in the ring against him look good; just look at his WrestleMania 38 bout with Johnny Knoxville. The ‘Last Real Good Guy’ is capable of cutting a believable promo, and he’s been one of the most durable wrestlers in WWE since his debut on the main roster in 2015. He doesn’t need a run with the big gold, but he deserves at least several weeks or months as the top guy. Whether it’s as a face or a heel remains to be seen.

What makes this decision more compelling is the results from the King of the Ring Tournament Semifinals later in the episode. Jey Uso took on Je’Von Evans in a long, hard-fought battle that saw Uso target Evans’s ribs and advance to the finals to battle Oba Femi for this year’s King of the Ring crown. That match is scheduled to take place at this year’s Night of Champions in Riyadh. Femi seems to be headed towards a rubber match against Brock Lesnar, which would allow for ‘Main Event Jey’ to become ‘King Jey’. Uso would be met in the back by Rhodes, who congratulated his friend and former tag team partner on advancing to the finals. Uso laid out his ultimate plan to become Undisputed WWE Champion, eventually beating ‘The American Nightmare’ at SummerSlam for his title. This left the two on uneasy terms with each other.

Zayn would bump into Uso right after the Uso-Rhodes interaction. This was a callback to their time in the original Bloodline storyline with Zayn as the ‘Honorary Uce’; he was ‘Sami Uso’ at one point, as well. The two had a complicated relationship back then. Uso didn’t initially take kindly to the ‘Last Real Good Guy’ being a part of the Bloodline. Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Roman Reigns, and even Paul Heyman were cool with him, but ‘Main Event Jey’ was the last one to be welcoming to him. The two grew a legitimate bond over time to the point that Uso defended Zayn in Tribal Court when the latter didn’t have a defense for himself. The two even helped Rhodes capture the Undisputed WWE Championship from Reigns at WrestleMania 40 in that wild ending. It comes full circle now with both men vying for the exact title they helped the ‘American Nightmare’ win. WWE has gone all-in with telling a new Bloodline storyline, and this would be a fantastic new fold into the critically acclaimed story. Zayn versus Uso for the Undisputed WWE Championship at this year’s SummerSlam would be the perfect time for the ‘Last Real Good Guy’ to showcase his skills as a worthy top guy in WWE.