Cody Rhodes has found himself a new challenger for the Undisputed WWE Championship in the form of Aleister Black. The Dutch Destroyer’s wife and on-screen partner, Zelina Vega, recently warned The American Nightmare.
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Rhodes became a two-time Undisputed WWE Champion at SummerSlam 2025. He dethroned John Cena to win the title and has successfully defended it twice against Drew McIntyre. On SmackDown, he was confronted by Black and Zelina, who slapped Rhodes during the show’s opening segment.
On Instagram, Zelina Vega shared photos from this week’s SmackDown, including the one where she could be seen slapping Rhodes. The former Women’s United States Champion put The American Nightmare on notice.
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“yournightmarebeginsnow,” Zelina wrote.
WWE sends a warning to AEW – Watch Here!
Check out Zelina’s post on Instagram below.
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Aleister Black on his pairing with Zelina Vega on WWE TV
Aleister Black opened up about his pairing with Zelina Vega on SmackDown. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, the former NXT Champion revealed that they were shooting vignettes and creating outfits for their characters.
Black added that the idea was for Zelina to join forces with him during his initial WWE run. He said:
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“We started shooting little vignettes for it, and we started creating outfits for it. That first mask that I ever wore when I worked with [AEW] was actually one of the masks that was utilized. If you remember The Dark Father character that was at the end of my initial run [with WWE], that would eventually see my wife joining me (…) that was one of the pitches.”
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Black was in action against Cody Rhodes in a non-title match, which headlined this week’s episode of SmackDown. The bout concluded in a controversial manner after Drew McIntyre hit the referee with a Claymore, leading to Nick Aldis suspending the Scotsman.
McIntyre and Black briefly joined forces and set their sights on The American Nightmare before Damian Priest came to the champion’s aid. The feud between Black and Rhodes is far from over, despite McIntyre and Priest’s involvement.