After starting off RAW as only he can, with a big, flashy promo meant to pander to the local crowd, Cody Rhodes found himself interrupted by Drew McIntyre, who decided to interrupt his former Dashing Ones tag team partner in order to go down memory lane… and establish the pecking order for the RAW men's division moving forward.

“So, Cody, what do you wanna talk about? Cody you’ve been back for a minute and you and I really haven’t had a chance to catch up. We go way back. You and I, we grew up in WWE together. We’re the same age, similar career paths, and I want to take this opportunity to finally look you in the eye and tell you, I’m proud of you. I’m proud of the man you’ve become, the performer you’ve become, I look at us both now, how far we’ve come, and I can’t help but think back when we were kids like 23, 24 years old. We were WWE Tag Team Champions. That is true, you might have to go and Google, that’s 100 percent true. Do you remember our tag team name?

“The Dashing Ones! Man I can’t believe we didn’t go to the top with that name. The reason we didn’t go far with the tag team is because at the time, you know, we didn’t quite have the perspective we have now, we saw ourselves as singles wrestlers, we didn’t embrace that opportunity. We had to leave WWE to finally get our heads screwed on right, to see things straight, to get that perspective, and we weren’t any ordinary wrestlers outside WWE, were we? No. We redefined what it meant to be a wrestler outside WWE. We laid the blueprint outside WWE. We became verbs, to ‘Do a Drew,’ to ‘Do a Cody,’ to become so undeniable WWE calls you back.

“Do you remember the last match I had before I returned to WWE? It was with you. I remember what you told me after that match. Do you remember? You said I was gonna be a future world champion. And I’ve done it twice. Now I’m gonna tell you in front of the entire world. I see what people are saying, it doesn’t matter who comes back. I’ve seen the gifs, I’ve seen the jokes, screw it. You put your head down, you keep working, keep doing what you’re doing, you’re gonna be the first member of your family to raise that championship. You are gonna finish the story. But not before I finish mine.”

Oh snap, was that a WCPW reference? Are WWE stars allowed to do that? Or do they still have to pretend that there's no wrestling outside of The Fed, with free agents usually billed as having success “all over the world” instead of in a particular promotion save the occasional New Japan reference from Michael Cole? Well, Rhodes, ever one to engage in a battle on the mic, decided to shoot back on his former buddy, letting him know that they have very different mindsets at the moment.

Cody Rhodes vows to settle things with Drew at the Royal Rumble.

After sitting through some additional back-and-forth battling, with Drew McIntyre telling the “American Nightmare” that he doesn't have to always present himself like he's running for office, Cody Rhodes fired back in a major way, letting the fans in attendance know that he's proud of his second chance in WWE.

“Since we’re talking about stepping up. I assure you, Drew, this is not an act,” Cody Rhodes told Drew McIntyre. “I smile when I come out here because this is what I love. I appreciate the opportunities I got because I made them for myself. You’re right, we’re very similar. Similar career paths, but the difference right now is I am thankful. I am grateful. I cherish. I relish my second chance, and you are just standing here complaining about yours.”

Shocked, McIntyre fired back, keeping up his attack on his former tag team partner.

“So this is the real Cody, huh? Are you a wolf in politician’s clothing? If this is the real Cody, why the h*ll would you bring Jey Uso to RAW knowing the trouble it would cause? Is that a case of friends close, enemies closer, huh? What about endorsing CM Punk? You were there back in the day, you know what he’s like. You were there with him recently, you know exactly what he’s like. Is that to make you happy, or is it to make everybody else happy?” Drew McIntyre asked.

“I don’t like the fact you’re a kiss a**e at times, but I do like you, and I wish this conversation wasn’t happening right now. If Damien Priest wasn’t an idiot, and cashed in that briefcase when he did, I’d be world champion, we wouldn’t be talking right now, but we are. So, you’re standing in my way, and like Punk learned last week, if you stand in my way, you will get eaten alive. I’m operating at a different level right now. When I’m feeling like this, when I’m 100 percent me, I know what’s best for business. I am this d**n business, and at WrestleMania, the story belongs to Drew McIntyre.”

With the crowd firmly behind him, Rhodes decided to close things out in a major way, reminding fans of who won their fateful match in WCPW all of those years ago.

“If. If that idiot Damien Priest. If that horrible Jey Uso. With you, that’s all it is, right? It’s if. It’s if. It’s IF!” Rhodes exclaimed. “Drew, you think that we’re the same? No, you are gripped with grievances and you want me to be like you. You want that for me. But the difference is, when I wonder, when I speculate ‘am I going to finish the story,’ I do not look at you, Drew McIntyre, I look two places. Right here (himself), and right there (crowd). So if you wanna settle this at the Royal Rumble, I sure as h*ll will give you something to complain about. And another thing, you keep mentioning this last match that we had. You told this story about the last match between you and I. Let me ask you something about it. Who won?”

Goodness, between Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Gunther, who declared for the Rumble later in the show, Cody Rhodes is going to have to put on an all-time effort in Tampa Bay to punch his ticket to a guaranteed WrestleMania 40 main event spot once more. Fortunately, if 2023 taught fans anything, it's that the “American Nightmare” is built for it, even if he has everyone gunning for him in the match.