Over the holidays, WWE will host a series of house shows themed around Christmas. The company will make stops in various cities across North America, including New York City and Chicago.
We recently learned that CM Punk will face World Heavyweight Champion Gunther in a Steel Cage match and Kevin Owens has just announced that he'll also be part of the tour (seemingly in place of Cody Rhodes).
As we're sure you'll recall, Saturday Night's Main Event ended with the American Nightmare retaining the Undisputed WWE Championship after hitting Kevin Owens with a Cross Rhodes on a steel chair the heel had brought into the ring moments before.
It was an unexpected way for a babyface to retain their title and KO retaliated by getting back into the ring and hitting Rhodes with a Piledriver.
Since then, WWE has announced, "Earlier today it was confirmed that [Cody Rhodes] suffered cervical swelling and was kept overnight at a local hospital for observation. While X-Rays were negative for a fracture, Rhodes has been officially diagnosed with axial compression of the cervical spine, as well as a cervical strain with spasm."
According to KO, he intends to defend the winged eagle championship that he walked out of Saturday Night's Main Event with because he's the "new, true WWE Champion." It's unclear whether this gimmick will extend to what we see on television.
"BALLZ!!! Now that I have your attention, I have great news for you all! I am proud to officially announce that I will be competing in my first matches as your new, true WWE Champion on this year’s Holiday loop (that’s a term people in “the business” use that refers to a string of consecutive shows in different cities over a short period of time) starting in Jacksonville on the 26th, followed by 3 more shows in Florida and then one in Detroit for some reason. Be there to witness history! Oh, the Raw crew has shows too. Whatever."
The Prizefighter is having a blast with his new heel persona and his claiming to be the rightful WWE Champion could mark an interesting development in this storyline. After all, there was a moment in the match where it looked like Owens had Rhodes beaten.
Check out his comments in full below.