When Shinsuke Nakamura revealed that Cody Rhodes was the subject of his mysterious vignettes on RAW, it turned heads around the WWE Universe.

Now sure, technically, the promos could have been about Rhodes, or AJ Styles, or CM Punk, or really about any member of the WWE Universe, as the “King of Strong Style” was incredibly vague for some reason – probably because even the promotion didn't know where they would eventually take the angle – but why beat around the bush when it comes to “The American Nightmare?” Rhodes is around on television pretty much every week, and wasn't exactly a hard man to find heading into WarGames.

While Rhodes didn't learn the answer to this question before he was Muta-misted into submission on last week's episode of RAW, he was afforded plenty of time to discuss the aftermath one week into the future, and he even tipped his cap to the original “Mist Merchant,” the Great Muta, along the way.

“The first time I laid eyes on the poison mist, I was a little boy, and I was terrified of the man who did it, a man by the name of the Great Muta,” Rhodes told the crowd. “Now that I experienced it firsthand last week, the poison mist that is, I can tell you that the fears as a kid were justified. But I am not pointing fingers, I am not casting blame, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s my own. I should have listened, I should have paid attention to the clues that Shinsuke Nakamura was dropping continuously, and at the end of the day, it’s one of those situations where when you have big aspirations, you have a big bull's eye on your back, I knew that when I declared for the 2024 Royal Rumble. But I’m ready. Shinsuke, you have my attention, I think you have all of their attention, so there’s two things we could do here. You could emerge from the shadows, come to this ring, and explain yourself to me. Or you could march down here, and we could fight right now. I had a feeling that he wouldn’t sh-”

Unfortunately for Rhodes, he was unable to finish his thought, as Nakamura emerged on the Titantron, laying out his intentions for “The American Nightmare” using his now-signature promo style.

Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura are heading to primetime.

After at least saying most of his peace regarding Muta mist users past and present, Cody Rhodes was treated to a promo from Shinsuke Nakamura, who detailed his own desire to #FinishTheStory.

“Cody! Cody? Cody. Last week, I made your eyes burn. But tonight, I will open them. I will show you what you are not seeing: The path we’ve taken is the very same story. Like you, I climbed the mountain. Like you, I could see the top. Like you, I slipped and tumbled. I fell into a bottomless pit. Cody, we suffered the same humiliation. A fall from grace, pages left unwritten. The devil in your mind that whispers, ‘You’ll never make it back there.’ But now you have awakened me, inspired me, and I am here to unburden you. To step into your shoes and take that story off your hands. I never got to finish my story, so now I will finish yours,” Nakamura said.

Whoa, glossing over the mention of “the devil,” which may or may not even have CM Punk implications in the future, Nakamura came at Rhodes hard, using his own words against him in order to play mind games with the championship hopeful. Fortunately, firmly in the sidequest portion of his title pursuit, Rhodes is more than happy to take on Nakamura's challenge and is even willing to give it to fans for free on cable TV.

“You think our stories are the same,” Rhodes asked. “Shinsuke, I appreciate you explaining why you attacked me, and perhaps we’ve had a similar path, but until you stand in this ring with me, I need you to know, I don’t like you, I don’t respect you. It has never been part of my story to run from a fight. You keep saying that we’re the same? Prove it.”

How will the match with Nakamura shake out for “The American Nightmare?” Will he secure the win cleanly, clearing his mind and calendar until the 2024 Royal Rumble? Or will Nakamura find a way to extend this feud out further, be that via a victory of his own or some sort of no-contest designation? Either way, with Christmas mere weeks away, it looks like Rhodes will be seeing green or red, depending on which flavor of Muta mist the “King of Strong Style” looks to borrow for the man he helped retire in Pro Wrestling Noah earlier this year.