WWE announces high-stakes ladder match for Royal Rumble with double championship implications

This premier event will feature a high-stakes ladder match where one Superstar could claim two titles. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will face Kevin Owens, who believes he was unjustly denied the championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Owens’s claim stems from a controversial moment when the referee was incapacitated, and he pinned Rhodes for a decisive three-count. This infuriated Owens, especially since Rhodes later pinned him after a brutal chair-assisted Cross Rhodes.

Seizing the opportunity, Owens absconded with the iconic Winged Eagle Championship, which Rhodes had revived for the night. He has since declared himself the rightful champion. On SmackDown, Owens, clutching the stolen title, demanded a rematch with Rhodes from General Manager Nick Aldis.

Aldis issued a stern ultimatum: “I already said that this was not a negotiation. I already said there would be severe consequences, but maybe you need me to spell it out in English. Hand it over or you never set foot in a WWE ring again.” Rhodes, sans neck brace, intervened, refusing to let Owens become a martyr. He accused Owens of mirroring the Bloodline’s manipulative tactics.

Rhodes then threw down the gauntlet: “Take that Championship, hang em’ high up. Kevin Owens, ladder match!” Despite Aldis’s concerns, Rhodes insisted, leading Aldis to declare: “At the Royal Rumble, Kevin Owens will face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed Championship in a ladder match.” With both titles at stake, the victor will walk away with two of WWE’s most coveted prizes.

However, Owens couldn’t resist a final blow, stomping on Rhodes’s injured neck before exiting. Interestingly, the crowd initially supported Owens’s demand for a rematch but later rallied behind Rhodes, seeking retribution for Randy Orton. The Royal Rumble audience’s allegiance remains to be seen.

Currently, this is the only official match on the Rumble card besides the classic 30-Superstar Rumble matches. More matches will likely be announced after WWE Raw’s Netflix debut, which is generating considerable excitement with its lineup of anticipated showdowns.