Gunther Names Special Guest Referee for WWE Championship Match Against Cody Rhodes

If Sami Zayn is the last real good guy left in WWE, like he claims to be, then Cody Rhodes has nothing to worry about ahead of his next WWE Championship defense.

The American Nightmare will put this title on the line against Gunther on June 19 when WWE SmackDown takes over the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. After the controversial finish to their match at Clash in Italy, where The Ring General was pinned despite getting his foot underneath the bottom rope, Rhodes granted him a rematch. It came with a caveat.

Gunther's legal team negotiated a special stipulation with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, which he revealed during Friday night's episode of the Blue Brand in Providence, Rhode Island. The Career Killer said if he learned anything last week it's that he cannot trust Aldis' choice of official, and that he would choose one instead.

Sami Zayn will be the special guest referee when Cody Rhodes and Gunther face each other for the WWE Championship

You want him to be honest?! 😳@CodyRhodes just went OFF on @SamiZayn!! 😱 😱 pic.twitter.com/1wb4EPJAd6
— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2026

He did not reveal his selection to Aldis during their backstage conversation early in the first hour of the show, but fans did not have to wait too terribly long to find out who would be tasked with calling next week's match.

Sami Zayn made his way down to the ring near the top of the second hour with the goal of making things right with the WWE Champion. That attempt did not go well, to say the least, as Zayn ended up smacking Rhodes across the face. When Cody retaliated, Sami grabbed a steel chair before thinking better about using it.

Zayn and Rhodes were once seen as good friends, but they've been at odds with each other over the past few months. A number of miscommunications between the two finally boiled over Friday night when Cody declared that Zayn would never win the WWE Championship as long as it was in his possession. Those words could soon come back to haunt him.

Following that in-ring confrontation, Gunther returned to the office of Nick Aldis and named Sami Zayn as next week's special guest referee.

Cody Rhodes' monumental challenge of overcoming both Gunther and Zayn comes ahead of this month's Night of Champions Premium Live Event, where he will presumably defend his title again, should he successfully hang on to it next week.

Night of Champions will also feature the King of the Ring finals. The winner of which will earn the opportunity to face either Rhodes or Roman Reigns, again, presumably, for their respective championship at SummerSlam this August.

Next week's WWE Championship Match is not the only title match that's been booked for the show in Kansas City. The WWE Tag Team Titles will also be on the line as Damian Priest and R-Truth defend their gold against The MFTs.

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