Cody Rhodes Responds to Matt Cardona, WWE Rumors on John Cena's Booking, Piper Niven

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Rhodes Addresses to Cardona After TNA Invasion

After Matt Cardona and several other TNA wrestlers invaded NXT on Tuesday night, one of WWE's top stars took notice.

Cardona posted on X that he will defend TNA against NXT "any day of the week," prompting WWE champion Cody Rhodes to respond with the popular eye emoji, which normally indicates intrigue:

Rhodes and Cardona are real-life friends dating back to their time together in WWE when Cardona went by the ring name Zack Ryder.

As Ryder, Cardona enjoyed a great deal of success, holding the Intercontinental and United States Championships one time each. He was also a two-time tag team champion with Curt Hawkins, who currently wrestles in TNA as Brian Myers.

There was a time in the early 2010s when the Ryder character was among the most popular aspects of WWE programming, thanks largely to Cardona getting himself over with the WWE Universe through creative YouTube videos.

Despite winning multiple titles, Cardona arguably never reached the heights he should have in WWE, as the decision-makers did not pull the trigger on major pushes when the time was right.

WWE released Cardona in 2020, and while that could have been the end of the line for him like it was for many wrestlers before him, he dedicated himself to his craft and became arguably the top independent wrestler in the world for several years running.

Cardona has been so successful on the independent scene that it is fairly surprising that WWE has yet to re-sign him.

The working relationship between WWE and TNA paved the way for Cardona to make his first appearance on a WWE show since his release, and there could potentially be more in his future.

Whether that leads to a WWE contract remains to be seen, but he does have some big-time supporters already in the company including Rhodes, as well as Cardona's wife, former women's United States champion Chelsea Green.

Cena Reportedly Made Call to Lose to Lesnar

The controversial decision to have John Cena lose a one-sided match to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza last weekend was reportedly made based on input from Cena himself.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestleTalk), Cena is "very unselfish" and felt it would behoove WWE to put Lesnar over since he will still be around even after Cena retires at the end of the year.

Meltzer added that while the final call rests with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H on creative decisions, he wasn't going to go against Cena's wishes.

Cena, 48, is in the midst of his retirement tour, and it will come to an end in December when he has the last match of his illustrious career.

There are only a handful of appearances remaining on Cena's schedule, and the match against Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza was one of Cena's final matches.

Lesnar largely dominated the match, overcoming a brief flurry from Cena to win convincingly thanks to multiple F-5's.

The match was mostly panned by fans on social media since it was similar to past Cena vs. Lesnar matches and because Cena was decimated in one of his last matches.

However, if the match played out like Cena wanted it to, it is difficult to argue against the booking, as Cena deserves to go out on his terms.

Frustrated fans finally got what they wanted this week, though, when it was announced that Cena will face longtime rival AJ Styles one final time next month at Crown Jewel.

Niven Reportedly Dealing with Serious Neck Injury

New details emerged this week regarding a major injury Piper Niven reportedly suffered.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Niven has a neck injury, although an official diagnosis regarding the exact nature and severity of the injury isn't yet known.

It was previously reported by Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Carrier) that there was concern within WWE that Niven's injury could be career-ending.

However, Fightful noted that sources they spoke to believe Niven will be able to return at some point.

Part of The Secret Hervice, Niven scored one of the biggest victories of her career on the Aug. 22 episode of SmackDown, beating Charlotte Flair.

That led to a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match pitting The Secret Hervice against Flair and Alexa Bliss, but when Niven was unable to compete, Chelsea Green replaced her as Alba Fyre's partner in a losing effort on the Sept. 19 edition of SmackDown.

The 34-year-old Niven's absence will be felt within The Secret Hervice and the SmackDown women's division, but Fightful's report creates at least some hope that Niven will be able to recover and return to the ring eventually.