AJ Styles was hit hard after losing to Cody Rhodes at Backlash in early May. So much so that he went to Nick Aldis’ office to beg for a new opportunity against Rhodes. Because he doesn’t have much time left as a wrestler. But the SmackDown GM rejected the proposal because he suggested Styles must earn that second chance. This caused the former WWE champion’s behavior to change immediately. And last week on SmackDown, he insinuated that he was going to announce his retirement.

And he surely did, as he talked about how much he has given to wrestling for 20 years. He asked Rhodes to join him in the ring to hand him the keys to SmackDown. Which is the house he built. Rhodes, very excited, accepted it and raised AJ’s hand on several occasions for the audience to give him a standing ovation.

However, AJ Styles attacked Cody with a clothesline, followed by a Styles Clash on one of the metal stairs. In this way, it was clear that his retirement was a lie. And it was simply about being able to get his hands on Rhodes. And now he has finally been booked to face The American Nightmare on The Clash at the Castle.

As announced in the latest edition of SmackDown. But when Rhodes arrived on the show where it was all made official, he no-sold the Styles Clash from the top of the stairs. Something that surely irked the guys at the Busted Open Podcast.

Major loophole regarding Cody Rhodes’ last appearance gets called out

When Rhodes arrived in the latest edition of SmackDown, he was all fired up, showing no signs of injuries. Something that surely caught the attention of the podcasters at the Busted Open Podcast. They discussed how Rhodes actually should’ve sold the injury he received. As the styles clash in actuality, is a dangerous move that is more than capable of causing serious harm.

So the fact that the babyface decided not to show an injury was a missed opportunity. Who doesn’t like the underdog story of an injured protagonist winning against the bad guy despite all odds against him? And during the buildup to WrestleMania 40, Rhodes did sell the injuries he received after The Rock and the Bloodline kept attacking him. So this surely was a missed opportunity.

They said, “I would have liked to see him physically sell getting Styles clashed off the stairs onto the floor because they made it seem like a big deal last week. But he came out. He came out fired up. My only tweak based on that was AJ should have gotten more on him last night because Cody can be pissed off and fired up. But the bottom line is he did get dropped on his face last week. He should have been that baby face that was pushing too hard trying to get through the injury. And it should have hurt him. He should have made the match. And then he probably should have been laid out a little bit more last night.”

This will be Rhodes’ third title defense since winning gold back at WrestleMania XL. The American Nightmare defeated Roman Reigns in one of the most important matches in the company’s recent history. Finally ending the Samoan’s historic reign. For his part, AJ Styles will try to add his third WWE Championship after more than five years without earning it back.

WWE Clash at the Castle 2024 will take place on Saturday, June 15, at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Fans will be able to watch this event live from the venue or through its broadcast through Peacock in the United States and WWE Network internationally.