Major WWE Superstar set to miss SmackDown

This week's episode of SmackDown will see AJ Styles and LA Knight battle it out to decide who will face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Despite claiming that he is now heading over to SmackDown as part of his promo on RAW, Cody Rhodes will not be part of tonight's show. The American Nightmare is currently the headliner on the European Tour which stops in London tonight, which means that he will not be able to be in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for SmackDown.

Despite the new Champion not being part of the show, the company has a stacked lineup prepared with Bayley defending her Women's Championship for the first time against Naomi, LA Knight and AJ Styles battling it out to be crowned Number One Contender, and The Bloodline story will continue.

Last week Solo Sikoa made it clear that he isn't following Roman Reigns's orders anymore and added Tama Tonga to the group, and there could be more additions tonight.

The Tag Team Champions could also be handed new title belts and become the WWE Tag Team Champions. Triple H was on hand to unveil the new championships on RAW, so many believe the same will happen on SmackDown.

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Cody Rhodes is the WWE SmackDown Champion... at the moment

Cody Rhodes has appeared on SmackDown since winning the Undisputed WWE Championship and has already noted that he holds the title for the blue brand. That being said, SmackDown has been able to run without a Champion for many months and has been able to adapt to Roman Reigns's absence.

The upcoming draft could allow Rhodes to be moved over to RAW and Damian Priest to SmackDown, and it seems that Champions can be moved as part of the Draft.

Cody Rhodes wasn't advertised for this week's episode of SmackDown, but The American Nightmare hasn't missed a show since WrestleMania.