Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Hospitalized With Spinal Injury

Cody Rhodes was hospitalized after successfully defending his title from Kevin Owens at Saturday Night's Main Event, but WWE has announced that the Undisputed Champion was hospitalized and x-rayed for spinal injuries after the show.

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WWE's official statement regarding Rhodes' injuries reads "Earlier today it was confirmed that @CodyRhodes 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."

The event, held at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, marked the first episode "Saturday Night's Main Event" since 2008, returning to NBC after more than a decade.

However, after the match, Owens attacked Rhodes in a shocking post-match assault. After Rhodes celebrated his victory, Owens delivered a brutal package piledriver, leaving the champion lying motionless in the ring.

Rhodes was quickly tended to by medical staff and rushed to the back on a stretcher, before being transported to an ambulance.

Owens' actions did not go unnoticed. WWE's Chief Content Officer, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, confronted Owens backstage, visibly angry at the brutal attack.

With Rhodes now injured and likely out of action for an extended period, Owens will take some satisfaction knowing he's dealt a severe blow to the champion, despite his defeat.

To be fair, almost everything about this announcement and Owens' backstage attack indicates that this is a work and that Rhodes' injuries might simply be part of the ongoing rivalry storyline between the two.

However, it is extremely common for WWE to stage a "backstage attack" that results in a severe injury for a wrestler who has suffered a legitimate injury elsewhere and actually does need recovery time. It is entirely possible that could be the case here.

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For example, Rhea Ripley suffered a real injury during a head-butt spot on a late October episode of Raw, but WWE kept the details under wraps until they incorporated it into a storyline on NXT.

To explain Ripley's absence, WWE scripted a dramatic angle in which she was ambushed in the parking lot of the WWE Performance Center by Liv Morgan, the reigning Women's World Champion, and Raquel Rodriguez. At the time, WWE issued a very similar statement regarding The Nightmare.

The attack added fuel to the simmering rivalry between Ripley and Rodriguez, which had been building since April, further intensifying the feud, which was eventually addressed at WarGames.

Given that when this happened to Ripley, WWE covered her legitimate fractured right orbital bone with a very similar staged facial injury, probably, Rhodes did actually suffer some spinal injury recently, which is being covered with an exaggerated spinal injury.

The severity of whatever injury the champion has will have to remain to be seen. If the reported "axial compression of the cervical spine, as well as a cervical strain with spasm" is an angle to cover a real injury for now, it appears that WWE is following its usual playbook.

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