Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes stood across the ring from each other in what Michael Cole called a match with "so much at stake." Monday night, Uso and Rhodes took to "WWE Raw's" main event in the King of the Ring semifinals, and after 25 minutes of in-ring warfare, Rhodes stood tall, with a ticket punched for Saudi Arabia and a date with an old friend inRandy Orton.
Their relationship caused Rhodes and Uso to stalemate early on as the two grappled and dodged early finisher attempts. Uso was the first man to find his momentum, as he nailed "The American Nightmare" with a Samoan Drop before rattling the former Universal Champion's head into the turnbuckle. Rhodes managed to save himself from an Uso Splash, to which Uso responded with a chokehold.
Rhodes only barely managed to save himself by dumping Uso to the outside. Uso responded by interrupting Rhodes' Suicide Dive attempt with a right hand. A top-rope slugfest turned into a Superplex from Rhodes, but Rhodes failed to sustain match dominance as the two went right hand for right hand. Uso attempted a Cross Rhodes, but Rhodes wiggled free to plant Uso with a Cody Cutter for a near-fall. Uso responded with a spear, but Rhodes, similarly, kicked out.
The match's final act saw both Uso and Rhodes running on pure adrenaline. Uso nailed Rhodes with another Cody Cutter, but it was not enough to put away "The American Nightmare." Uso followed it up with a Spear, and was looking for the Uso Splash before Rhodes jumped to meet the top rope-bound Uso with a cutter. Rhodes dumped Uso with a particularly hard-hitting Cross Rhodes to end a near half-hour battle.
Following the match, Rhodes and Uso embraced, and Uso raised his friend's hand to end the show.
