Sami Zayn Loses to Cody Rhodes by DQ, Retains WWE Title, Set to Face Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel

00:22Featured VideoCody Punt Kicks Baron Corbin 🦵WWE/WWE via Getty ImagesSami Zayn Loses to Cody Rhodes by DQ, Retains WWE Title, Set to Face Roman Reigns at Crown JewelMike ChiariOct 20, 2026Sami Zayn retained the WWE Championship in a DQ loss to Cody Rhodes in a dark match following Monday night's episode of Raw.

Monday's bout was significant in terms of the impact it could have had on what may be the main event of the Crown Jewel premium live event on Nov. 7.

Grading WWE Raw 🔠Bleacher Report41mWWE Must End Judgment Day 🚫Bleacher Report8hDebating Triple H's Obsession With WarGames Match 👨‍⚖️Bleacher Report15hWWE already announced that Zayn would face Roman Reigns in a champion vs. champion match at Crown Jewel, and the two faced off in a tense moment during Raw:

Rhodes had a chance to throw a wrench into those plans, however.

Adding even more intrigue to the match is the fact that there was plenty of history between Zayn and Rhodes going into it.

When Zayn became WWE champion for the first time back in June at Night of Champions, he won it from Rhodes in a Triple Threat that also included Gunther.

While Zayn and Rhodes were once friends, that changed in the weeks prior to that match, as Sami proved he was willing to do whatever it took in order to become a world champion.

Zayn dropped the WWE Championship to CM Punk in his first title defense just days later, although that match was originally supposed to be Zayn vs. Rhodes before Cody got attacked backstage.

On the Sept. 11 episode of SmackDown in Mexico, Zayn won the WWE title back from Punk, and he subsequently retained it in a title defense against Kevin Owens one week later.

After being robbed of his WWE Championship rematch about four months ago, Rhodes finally got it on Monday night against the man who beat him for the title in the first place.

Zayn managed to retain, though, likely cementing his Crown Jewel match against Reigns.