When Roman Reigns made his triumphant return at SummerSlam, earning the sort of babyface reaction Vince McMahon tried and failed to garner for years, fans had a few seconds to wonder who he was there to deal with, Solo Sikoa or Cody Rhodes.
Now granted, that answer came a few seconds later, as Reigns hit a Superman Punch and a Spear on his cousin before leaving the ring and the city of Cleveland behind, but that little look he gave to Rhodes told a thousand stories, even if WWE will have to settle on the one they want to focus on moving forward.
Asked what it was like to see Reigns return at SummerSlam, Rhodes let it be known that he appreciated the assist and what Reigns brings to the (head of the) table overall.
“I don't want to fill the room with positive platitudes and hot air about the real ‘Tribal Chief' Roman Reigns returning, but without a doubt, that probably would have gone a different way. I probably wouldn't be sitting here with the North Star of the industry had it not been for Roman Reigns,” Cody Rhodes told reporters via WrestleTalk.
“So he's certainly… I've got quite a list of people who I owe one, I might owe him more than one. And again, no love lost, that's as much of a shoot as it gets. There's a unique relationship, I suppose. Haven't seen or spoken since WrestleMania. I think the WWE fans, wrestling fans, WWE Universe, they wanted him, and SummerSlam delivered and gave him, and that I'm always very happy about.”
Is Rhodes on the money? Would Sikoa have left the show with the WWE Championship had it not been for Reigns icing him out in the way only he can? Or would Rhodes have still found a way to eke it out in the end, especially considering Jacob Fatu may have suffered a serious injury on his Splash spot? It's impossible to know, but what is patently obvious is how interesting the next episode of SmackDown has the potential to be, as almost anything could happen at this point.
Cody Rhodes puts over Pharaoh after his final WWE entrance
Elsewhere during the SummerSlam press conference, Rhodes commented on the inclusion of his dog Pharaoh in his entrance for the main event, especially considering he announced before the show that this would be his final road trip in WWE.
While Pharaoh isn't sick and Rhodes expects him to live a long, happy life, he did acknowledge that at 13, he is slowing down a bit and would enjoy spending time with Libby at home instead of driving around on the Nightmare Bus for big, loud shows on the road.
“Pharaoh's 13 years old. For those who don't know, Pharaoh's my husky, he's my dog. He's 13 years old. He's thriving, he's doing great. But the pack is at home now. He's more Libby's dog than he is my dog anymore. But something about Pharaoh. Some people know this, but any time I've had highs and lows, and particularly the lows in my life, I'm not always the easiest to reach,” Rhodes explained via Fightful.
“I remember I just sat outside, when I had a home in Dallas, I couldn't go inside, I couldn't function, I couldn't think. That dog sat with me from, I don't know, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. He just never moved. People who have dogs, they get it. He's really man's best friend, and I don't want to keep dragging him on the road if he just wants to be home, so we had a fun time here. Lots of treats. The bus driving crew, clearly giving him food they shouldn't. But I was happy I got to take that walk with him. My other dog, Yeti Pinkerton, is just a jobber. He's an enhancement dog [laughs], but now it's his time to step up, and I love him. It was really nice. I thank WWE. It was a pretty ridiculous ask. ‘Can I have my dog here?' ‘Okay, no problem.' So that was very kind of WWE to do, I really appreciated it.”
Is it a tad rude to call Yeti a jobber? Yes, but frankly, it's nice that Rhodes was able to give a major shout-out to Pharaoh, as some of the greatest moments of his post-Stardust era, both in AEW and WWE, featured the white huskie. If he wants to spend more time at home, he should, especially since Yeti has already come out with a statement of his own regarding Rhodes' slander.
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