After a week of anticipation and a preview of things to come on both RAW and social media, The Rock, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins all got into the ring in the main event of SmackDown to further one of the most prolonged storylines in professional wrestling: who will main event Night 1 of WrestleMania 40?
Would Rhodes and Rollins accept the match that everyone has already penciled in for Saturday night in South Philadelphia? Would they swerve things once more, forcing fans the following week to listen to a remarkably similar storyline with just a few more yards advanced toward the endzone?
Well, as it turns out, SmackDown served as a solid 10-yard completion on first down, matriculating the ball down the field on the way to their ultimate goal of a WrestleMania touchdown.
Exchanging some small talk to open up the segment, The Rock got down to brass tacks a little under seven minutes before the show went off the air, reminding fans of the stakes before laying out the challenge once more to Rhodes and Rollins.
“And before you go ahead and say something stupid and accept this challenge in front of the world, let The Rock drop some gospel on your punk a** right here and right now. The Rock acknowledged him as the ‘Tribal Chief' because it's what family does. We are family, it's what we do. WrestleMania Night 1, let The Rock reiterate the stakes; if you and you beat The Rock and Roman Reigns on Night 1, then on Night 2 of WrestleMania, you will be free of The Bloodline. You will be free, you will be free to achieve that story and the dream of your dad,” The Rock told the crowd in Dallas.
“Now, when The Rock and Roman Reigns beat both of your candy a**es on Night 1, then on Night 2, it's Bloodline Rules, anything goes. Which means The Rock will do anything and everything in his power to make sure you do not walk out Universal Champion. With that said, do you accept…”
Having heard enough, Rollins cut in, delivering the key line that should have taken the show off the air, emphasis on the word should.
“Will you shut the h*ll up? For once in your life, will you shut the h*ll up? We know the stakes, that the future of the industry is on the line, we get that, but you listen to me, and you listen to me good ‘Mr. Midlife Crisis,'” Seth Rollins declared. “You had your time, you had your time, and you d**N sure can't have ours. So you want your answer? Biggest WrestleMania of all time? Biggest tag match of all time? We accept!”
Welp, that's that, right? WWE can print the posters, and everyone can be on their way? Well, not so fast, as after a confusingly long pause, Reigns laughed at his former Shield member before taking this feud in an incredibly personal direction.
The Rock believes Cody Rhodes is nothing but a mistake.
Just went it looked like fans could go home happy, Roman Reigns butted into the conversation, calling his former tag team partner a not-very-nice word by 2024 standards before turning his attention to Cody Rhodes.
“Hahaha, God, you're just going to let him answer for you? You must be an idiot, you must be from Texas or something,” Roman Reigns laughed. “You're gonna let this cross-dresser make your decisions for you? I mean come on, hey, this is it right here, understand that this is your future; when I beat you at WrestleMania on Sunday, that's it. As far as I'm concerned, you don't get another shot. Your story's over, it's done for you now.”
The Rock joined the discussion too, letting Rhodes know it's now or never before taking the feud to an even more personal place than before.
“It is over. And let The Rock tell you something you walking clown emoji, shut your mouth and listen to The Rock and you listen to The Rock because it goes down like this: The Rock will do everything in his power to make sure that you don't win and to make sure that that title goes away. The Rock is a Director of the Board of TKO, which means it owns WWE, which means he's your boss and you're boss!” The Rock declared.
“Cody Rhodes, listen to The Rock, with everything in The Rock's guts, if you do not complete this story and and if you don't win, you will never, ever, ever get another shot at this again. You run your mouth, you chant your chants, listen, look in The Rock's eyes when he tells you this; this is family. Roman's grandfather looking down is proud, The Rock's grandfather, the High Chief, is looking down and right now, your dad, the ‘American Dream,' one of The Rock's heroes is looking down.
“Isn't it true that you're the youngest of three? And isn't it true that your sister was a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys? And isn't it true that your brother is a future Hall of Famer? And you're 20 years younger than your siblings, isn't that right? You know why? Because you were a mistake.”
Jeez, what is this, a soap opera? Is The Bloodline really taking things in this direction? Or did Rhodes' reaction, a swift slap to the face, shut that line of questioning down for good? Either way, it's safe to say this feud is only going to get more personal before it reaches its crescendo in a few weeks in South Philadelphia, much to the benefit of fans of WWE around the world.
.@WWE pic.twitter.com/AK73xwGTbI
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) March 9, 2024
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