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Cody Rhodes Shocks Manchester By Inviting UFC Champion To The Ring

Three TKO champions shared the ring in Manchester.

Dariel Figueroa

wwe.com

WWE was in Manchester, England, on Wednesday (October 16), with headliners Cody Rhodes, Solo Sikoa, Gunther, and Nia Jax on the card. WWE Champ Rhodes entered the ring to cut a promo before a match between World Heavyweight Champion Gunther and challenger Chad Gable.

Rhodes shocked and delighted the Manchester audience by inviting UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall to the ring. Aspinall, an English-born fighter, naturally got a hero's welcome. By all accounts, the UFC champ cut a decent promo... until Gunther showed up.

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Gunther called for a photo-op between the three men saying, "Cody, since now all three of the top TKO champions are in the ring, we can take a picture together."

An X user by the name of Bendo Nagasaki reported that the photo-op was interrupted by Gunther's opponent for the night, Chad Gable, which segued into their championship match. The promo by the TKO champions was reportedly an effort to hype up the upcoming Crown Jewel PLE.

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On November 2, Rhodes and Gunther will clash over the men's Crown Jewel Championship, a new, extravagant title introduced by Triple H at Bad Blood that contains 50 carats of diamonds. The champion vs champion match will be an annual affair at the Saudia Arabia event.

The women's division will also see a champion vs champion match for their version of the Crown Jewel Championship when Nia Jax collides with Liv Morgan.

As for Aspinall, he told SunSport, "When I have retired from MMA, I'm switching over to WWE. And I'm going to be the WWE heavyweight champ."

Aspinall seems to be serious about his aspirations for the squared circle. At 6'5" and 250 lbs., who's going to tell him no?

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Dariel Figueroa
DARIEL FIGUEROA

Dariel Figueroa joined On SI and The Takedown in 2024. He previously served as senior features writer at Uproxx, and has written for Heavy, Fansided, and Paste. Figueroa graduated with a double bachelor’s from Rowan University in journalism and multimedia production, respectively. You can follow him on X (fmr. Twitter) @figgyflow.

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