After watching Cody Rhodes cut an impassioned promo at the top of RAW‘s second hour, making light of The Rock's comments on the Pat McAfee Show before vowing to get revenge for being slapped at the WrestleMania 40 Kickoff event, Seth Rollins marched down to the ring in order to touch base with the “American Nightmare” in a new, post Las Vegas WWE Universe.

Thanked for coming to the “American Nightmare's” defense at the T-Mobil Arena, Rollins shrugged it off, letting Rhodes and all of the fans in Lexington know that he has bigger things on his mind than simply fishing for an apology.

“First things first, Cody, as much as I was looking forward to defending the World Heavyweight Championship against you at WrestleMania, I understand your decision; I understand why you had to pick Roman Reigns, h*ll; I understand why you needed Roman's title; you have to finish that story, right? And there are millions of people around the world who want you to finish your story! Now that the decision is made, let me make this very clear to you: you need to finish your story,” Seth Rollins told the fans in Lexington.

“You need to finish your story for you, for me, for your dad, for every single person here tonight! And I'll tell you why: if you don't beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and take the Undisputed WWE Championship from him, the landscape on the other side of WrestleMania is very, very dark. You've got the most powerful champion of the modern era, Roman Reigns, he gets even more power, he gets more leverage, which means he shows up less, he defends his title less. That glass ceiling, it gets thicker, those brass rings get higher: this is probably the last real chance that any of us has to take that title, to take that power and to give it to the people.

“You might be the man for the job, but Cody, what's your plan? Because last year you got screwed in the main event of WrestleMania. The Usos were there, Paul Heyman was there, Solo was there, Roman Reigns, you couldn't get the job done, but you fought your way back, and you won the Royal Rumble again. The deck's stacked against you just the same, but now the bar has been raised because you're not just dealing with Heyman and Solo and Jimmy and Roman; you are dealing with the biggest star, the most influential man in the entire entertainment industry: you've got to deal with The Rock.”

Is Rollins onto something? Is Rhodes the last best chance the rest of the WWE Universe has to dethrone Reigns before he heads into his fall hibernation, holding the top title on SmackDown hostage for the rest of 2024 like he has in 2023 and 2022, for that matter, as well? Only time will tell, but Rollins knows how they can help even the odds against one of the deepest stables in the WWE Universe: they need to band together.

You have Seth Rollins' shield, Cody Rhodes.

With the crowd chanting “Rocky Sucks!” at the babyfaces, Seth Rollins continued on, letting Cody Rhodes know that after being ganged up on during the main event of WrestleMania 39, the “American Nightmare” doesn't have to go it alone at the biggest show on the WWE calendar.

“Lexington, I tend to agree with you, which is why I came out here, Cody, to tell you that you don't have to fight this battle alone. Now, you and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but last week, you told Roman Reigns that you don't just want to take his title from him; you want to take everything from him, and deep in my soul, I felt that! And that is why at the press conference, when The Rock put hands on you, I stepped up because I am sick and I am tired of people like The Rock, of people like Roman Reigns, these arrogant, entitled pricks who think they can do whatever they want; they can throw their weight around, make any decision they want with no consequence, I am sick and tired of them always getting away with it!” Seth Rollins declared.

“And I've got to admit something to you right now: the man Roman Reigns is right now is partly my fault. Nearly 12 years ago, we came down those stairs with tactical vests on, we were brothers forged from the same fire. I taught him everything I know; I am partly responsible for the man he is but I could have never imagined the monster that he has become. And now, that monster's got two heads because he is standing side by side next to the only man on this planet who is as entitled and selfish as he is. But when it comes to fighting The Bloodline, when it comes to fighting The Rock, when it comes to fighting Roman Reigns, there is only one man on earth who is uniquely suited to be your ‘Shield.' I'll give you a hint, he was once an “Architect,' he is now a ‘Visionary,' he is a ‘Revolutionary,' he is Seth ‘Freakin' Rollins!”

Would it be cool to see Rhodes overcome the odds and defeat a deck that's very much stacked against him in South Philadelphia, becoming the first member of his family to call himself the WWE Champion? Sure, but frankly, would having Rollins in his corner really taint that sweet, sweet victory? For better or worse, Rollins and Rhodes have the very same endgame in mind, leaving the Linc as champions, and if they can put in work together as part of a tag team match against Reigns and The Rock on Night 1, it might just put Rhodes over the hump on Night 2 and finally place his story in the rear-view. Considering Rhodes' history with factions, it feels like he should consider it at the very least.