Cody Rhodes Went Full Street Fighter For SummerSlam

Summerslam weekend saw several new champions emerge, but Cody Rhodes wasn’t one of them. While the American Nightmare failed in his bid to dethrone CM Punk as the WWE Undisputed Champion, at least he managed to turn heads with his ring outfit, which went all in with Street Fighter influences. Rhodes–who plays Guile in the upcoming Street Fighter movie–hit the ring with a mask that captured the absurdity of Guile’s signature hairdo and M. Bison’s Shadaloo organization.

Given that the Street Fighter film was one of Summerslam’s sponsors, it wasn’t too surprising to see Rhodes geared up to help promote the upcoming movie. Just before he appeared, the PPV featured a character select screen in the same style as Street Fighter 2, with WWE performers like Seth Rollins, Danhausen, and Becky Lynch subbing in for Capcom’s brawlers. You can see the entrance for yourself, in the timestamped video below:

In the ring, Rhodes’ costume consisted of tights that mixed white with camouflage patterns similar to what Guile wears in his default Street Fighter costume, and on his entrance coat, you could spot Rhodes’ name stitched on in the familiar Street Fighter font. Sadly, the former WWE champion didn’t use a single Sonic Boom or Flash Kick attack against Punk. It’s worth noting that Street Fighter wasn’t the only video game-related sponsor for Summerslam, as Gears of War: E-Day was also prominently displayed on the ring mat.

Rhodes–and the rest of the ensemble cast–will hit theaters soon when Street Fighter arrives on October 16. Ahead of its release, the marketing for Street Fighter has begun to start up, and last week saw a sneak peek at one of the film’s fight scenes. In case you missed it, you can click the link to see an imprisoned Ryu (Andrew Koji) take on a beastly incarnation of Blanka (Jason Momoa).

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