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Cody Rhodes, Bayley Booked For Exhibition Matches At WWE Saturday Night's Main Event

John Cena has heavily emphasized shining a spotlight on the future of the WWE and we now know the next step in making that happen.
Aidan Chacon, Rick Ucchino|
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes | WWE

From Joe Rogan to Jimmy Kimmel, John Cena has been making the media rounds leading up to his final match December 13 at Saturday Night's Main Event.

He's slated to face Gunther, who won The 'Last Time Is Now' Tournament Friday night on SmackDown, but a major selling point for Cena during his media appearances has been highlighting the future of WWE.

John Cena's Final Match
John Cena's Final Match | WWE

Cena claims to owe so much of his career to the opportunity he was given against Kurt Angle in an open challenge back in 2002, and his way of paying it back to the wrestling business is to give a spotlight to a number of NXT stars on the night he retires as an in-ring competitor.

The first step towards doing so was having Je'Von Evans as a participant in The 'Last Time Is Now' Tournament, and now the first of several NXT exhibition matches for next weekend have been announced.

WWE Champion Rhodes will face Ricky Saints or Oba Femi

WWE NXT Deadline 2025
Ricky Saints vs. Oba Femi | WWE

Ricky Saints is set to defend his NXT Championship against Oba Femi in singles competition at NXT Deadline on Saturday, December 6, and both men were invited to SmackDown on Friday night to hear some massive news from WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

The American Nightmare informed the them that the winner of their match at Deadline would be facing him at Saturday Night's Main Event.

Oba Femi is getting his first shot at the NXT Championship since losing it to Ricky Saints back at NXT No Mercy, and that rematch now carries even higher stakes than it did before.

Former NXT Women's North American Champion Sol Ruca has also found her way onto the Saturday Night's Main Event. She was also invited to SmackDown Friday night and was informed that she would be facing multi-time WWE Women's Champion Bayley in an exhibition match.

Ruca appeared extremely ready for the challenge as she stood up to Bayley's warning in the backstage segment. The match between the two joins a card containing John Cena's last match and Cody Rhodes against the NXT Champion.

You can watch John Cena's last match against Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event live from Washington D.C. inside Capital One Arena December 13 on Peacock and Netflix internationally.

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Published
Aidan Chacon
AIDAN CHACON

Aidan has been a contributor to The Takedown since July of 2025. He also currently writes for the Miami Heat & Orlando Magic on SIl. Before joining On SI, he reported for Caplin News and created content individually. He has a bachelor’s degree in Digital Media & Communications at FIU’s School of Journalism. Aidan has spent years producing pro wrestling content on social media and writing about pro sports. He’s a lifelong enthusiast of the business and continues to cover the global wrestling world with an unbiased, but passionate approach. His favorite pro wrestling memory is watching Triple H vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 28, and legend has it he is still chanting "move the palm trees" to this day.

Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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