WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will face Kevin Owens at WWE Bash in Berlin
The second big match for WWE’s historic first major event in Germany is official: WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will face Kevin Owens at Bash in Berlin on August 31.
On the latest edition of the Friday Night SmackDown TV show, Owens was named as the new top challenger by General Manager Nick Aldis and Rhodes himself after Owens came to Rhodes’ aid once again in his feud against the new Bloodline led by Solo Sikoa.
WWE Bash in Berlin: Kevin Owens challenges Cody Rhodes
Canadian Owens was noticeably reserved in his reaction to the decision, stating that he “didn’t earn” the match. Aldis fixed the match anyway – what Owens’ behavior is all about remains to be seen: Usually, part of the storyline in title matches between two friends is to play with the question of whether the friendship can withstand the duel.
Owens and Rhodes’ former mentor Randy Orton have been Rhodes’ staunchest allies in the fight against the Bloodline in recent months. There have been several subtle hints that Orton is eyeing Rhodes’ title belt – in Berlin, however, Orton challenges the World Champion Gunther from Austria, who is actually located on RAW.
SmackDown ended with another appearance from former champion Roman Reigns, who returned at SummerSlam last weekend, as he went after the new Bloodline and chased them from the ring in a show of force
Giovanni Vinci ahead of return
Another piece of news revealed in a video clip on SmackDown: South Tyrolean Giovanni Vinci – a former member of Gunther’s grouping Imperium – is set for a ring return with his new, old character as the Italian bon vivant
Vinci had previously portrayed the character on the NXT developmental squad after being removed from Imperium by WWE in the interim – before new league leader “Triple H” Paul Levesque reunited the trio.
Vinci was last seen off TV after his German ex-partner Ludwig Kaiser turned on him
