Xavier Woods Takes Shot at Cody Rhodes After King of the Ring Win — Calls Himself the Real Reason the Tournament Exists

Cody Rhodes may have claimed the crown, but Xavier Woods isn’t letting anyone forget who he believes really brought the King of the Ring tournament back to life.

After Rhodes defeated Randy Orton to become the 2025 King of the Ring at WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, Woods jumped on social media with a fiery message aimed at both Rhodes and WWE management. Woods made it clear that without him, the tournament wouldn’t even exist right now.

“Happy Night of Champions and I got something to say to everybody that had the chance to compete in this year’s King of the Ring tournament. And that is simply you’re welcome because whether you want to admit it or not, I am the reason that that dead tournament is back. I’m the reason that you’re watching it tonight. I’m the reason that people now get a shot at the championship after winning it. I didn’t, even though I beat the current champion at the time. That’s neither here nor there.”

Woods didn’t stop there. He took a direct shot at Rhodes, accusing him of using the tournament as a convenient shortcut to another title shot.

“I’m here to say that there are less than 30 men in the history of humanity that have the ability to say that they won the King of the Ring tournament and I am one of them. So to everybody, once again, you are welcome, especially especially to the golden child, Cody Rhodes, because we all know that he needed another reason to get back in line to fight for that title. He couldn’t have done that any other way.”

The former King of the Ring winner also voiced his frustration over The New Day’s next challenge, as they prepare to defend their World Tag Team Championships against The Judgment Day on Monday’s WWE Raw.

“We’re here to cultivate. But unfortunately, because of Adam Pearce, now we have to go and put The Judgment Day down, which will honestly give them more opportunities to argue about which girl is bringing them chicken tenders this week.”

With Rhodes now set for a title shot at SummerSlam and Woods still talking, it’s clear the tension isn’t going anywhere.

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