After a week of anticipation, Nick Aldis decided to open up the penultimate edition of SmackDown before the Royal Rumble with a contract signing before his marquee match from the forthcoming Premium Live Event, the Fatal Fourway between Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, LA Knight, and Randy Orton for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

On paper, the decision makes some sense, right? In wrestling, contract signings almost always end in some sort of violence, and if any members of the signing wanted to make it official in a match, the SmackDown GM would have ample opportunities to grand that wish and send fans home happy in the process.

Fortunately, Aldis' foresight proved prophetic, as, after Styles, Knight, and Orton all signed on the dotted line, Paul Heyman marched down to the ring to let it be known that his “Tribal Chief” isn't looking to sign a contract he hasn't run by his lawyers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. Now, in case you’re not watching your own show, Mr. SmackDown Executive, your, your, your Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, and I just arrived,” Paul Heyman told the WWE Universe. “We haven’t had a chance to submit this contract to an attorney, let alone even The Wise Man getting his eye- (boos). The Wise Man getting his eyes on that agreement, so therefore, unfortunately, Roman Reigns will not sign that contract this evening.”

Fully aware of Heyman's games, Aldis stood his ground, letting the entire Bloodline know that if they don't want to play ball, the game will simply go on without them.

“Just so we’re clear, Roman Reigns isn’t signing this contract,” Nick Aldis asked. “Paul, that’s absolutely fine, because I have three signatures here from the willing participants, and I’ll simply make this a Triple Threat Match for the vacant Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship.”

Enraged, Heyman fired back, attempting to bully Reigns' way out of having to work his first title match of 2024.

“I don’t know if you realize this, but Mr. Aldis, I cared deeply about you, sir,” Heyman responded. “Sorry. I do. I halfway respect and admire the mediocre job that you’ve done as the SmackDown executive in charge of the show, and the fact that you do such a mediocre job like so many other people back there, but while doing it, you look really good at it, especially in these Paul Heyman-wannabe custom suits that you’ve been wearing. But no matter how good you look, there’s no way you can sell this to the board of directors, no way you can sell this to the fine, upstanding people of Atlanta, Georgia, and no way you can sell it to your Tribal Chief, who does call the shots here in WWE, because the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, should be defending the title at the Royal Rumble in a one-on-one match. I don’t care.”

Unfortunately for Heyman, his efforts were largely for not, as despite having Solo Sikoa interrupt the match between Knight and Styles later in the show, the “Tribal Heir” was ultimately bested by Orton, who hit him with an RKO, and dropped Reigns shortly thereafter with the most dangerous move in Sports Entertainment, though not before he could sign his contract for the Rumble. Despite his best efforts,  Reigns is now booked for the Royal Rumble, and no one is less happy about it than the “Wise Man.”

Nick Aldis gets real about wrestling a match in WWE.

Speaking of Nick Aldis and his rapid-fire success as the new SmackDown GM right out of the gate, some fans may not know that the “National Treasure” is actually an incredibly decorated wrestling, with two reigns with the NWA World lasting some 1,300 days and his matches against Cody Rhodes classics of the last decade.

Asked by DailyMail if he would consider getting in the ring once more now that he's stepped away from in-ring action, Aldis let it be known that when it comes to the WWE Universe, anything is possible.

“Anything is possible in the WWE. I deeply appreciate all of the fans, who keep me alive in that regard, who want to see me in the ring with this person or that person,” Nick Aldis shared via Fightful. “Since my interaction with Roman, that started a whole different conversation in that regard. I'm just grateful that there's an interest in it. At the same time, I'm fully committed to being the best general manager of all time, so I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.”

Asked if he had an idea of what could bring him back into the ring, Aldis noted that he wasn't entirely sure, but would happily take part in a WrestleMania if it came to London.

“I watched Money in the Bank. I particularly remember John Cena coming out and saying that we needed a WrestleMania to take place in London,” Aldis recalled. “And I will say this, if that if that were to happen – which it will, I’m very confident of that. I don’t have any intel on it, but you don’t say something like that without there being intention. If that were to happen, I would certainly do everything I could to be a good fit for that show. It all comes down to timing and opportunity and what the what the fans want to see if and if the fans want to see it. The opportunity is there and it’s good for business. Never say never.”

Who would Aldis wrestle if he got in the ring once more? Would he take the loss to someone like Roman Reigns should he refuse to follow a rule? Or would it be something more interesting, like, say, wrestling Adam Pearce, himself a former NWA Champion, in a match that would shock fans if it actually happened due to the level of excellence in the ring? Fans will have to tune into SmackDown moving forward to find out.