Cody Rhodes to Roman Reigns: ‘Can You Trust The Rock?’

“I thought he was becoming my brother, and what happened? He stabbed me in the back.”

Rollins’ famous heel turn on The Shield led to a very successful first title run for the man backed by Triple H at the time. Seth and Roman would team up again down the road when their feuds intersected, but the ‘turn’ remains one of the most definitive moments in both Rollins and Reigns’ careers.’ Roman then challenges Cody by asking him how he thinks he’ll fair with a known trader in his corner, playing on Cody’s own history with Rollins.

This was, of course, Reigns’ plan all along, and that is why he asked for Cody’s private audience alone. Without Seth, the two contradict Roman directly and immediately. Cody could only rely on the fact that Seth is known for one of the biggest turns in WWE history, and he was the first superstar Cody feuded with upon returning to WWE.

Cody Rhodes had a great retort to Roman’s inquisitions, but not before he reminded Roman that the first team to defeat ‘The Shield’ was, in fact, the Rhodes brothers roughly a decade ago and long before the superstars involved reached their current level of stardom. Cody admitted that Seth might not be the most trustworthy partner to choose, but he is sure that Seth hates Roman more than Seth hates Cody.

Then, Cody turned the tables and prompted Roman to consider his own level of trust concerning his Mania tag team partner. After all, The Rock’s first time back on WWE TV this year, he made comments about his intent to ‘sit at the head of the table’ and even called for a match with Roman at Mania—in fact, it was the central issue that launched the current program.

When The Rock references ‘Cody crybabies,’ it is in direct response to him not getting his way, and if he had his way, then Roman would be facing The Rock at Mania in place of Cody.

Cody asked bluntly, “Roman, can you trust your partner at WrestleMania? Can you trust The Rock?” While The Rock did ‘bend the knee’ to Roman, Cody decided to poke at Roman’s insecurities by reminding him how much of the spotlight The Rock has demanded since returning. ‘Who’s really in charge: The Tribal Chief or The Final Boss?’ This was the question that Cody put forward, and carefully classifying Roman and The Rock as the chief and the boss, two titles contradicting the perceived leadership roles amongst The Bloodline and the family as a single unit.

As Roman began to walk out of the ring, the camera picked up on Solo and Jimmy Uso in the crowd, and it looked like Cody would be outnumbered for being the trusting and honest babyface. However, the camera then caught Jey Uso hoodied up and ready for a fight, and then Seth Rollins was spotted in the crowd and received a loud ovation.

Roman looked confused; he thought his heel tactics would work, and he thought he could mess with Cody’s head. It turns out that Roman miscalculated, and at the end of the segment, he may be left with some doubt regarding The Rock’s true intentions.

In-Ring Action

Santos Escobar vs Rey Mysterio

After returning to SmackDown last week, Rey challenged Santos, the man who turned on Rey and caused the injury that kept him out of action. It was a fun match, although Rey showed some ring rust early. Ultimately, Santos would get the pinfall victory after a distraction from Rey’s son, Dom Mysterio, which led to Phantom Drive.

There were many stories that Dom would receive a big match at Mania, but with so many injuries and plan changes, it seems like they’re going to just restart the father-son feud. This is unfortunate because nothing has happened in the past few months that would make you think that Dom was still suffering from ‘daddy issues.’ However, they could add the mask as a stipulation to enhance the stakes, and Dom did come to the ring wearing a Mysterio mask.

Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs The O.C.

Waller and Theory get the pinfall victory. After nearly forgetting that The O.C. was in WWE, they came out to lose, setting up Theory and Waller to advance in a very confusing tag team tournament.

Iyo Sky vs Naomi

Sky wins via pinfall over Naomi. Damage CTRL2.0 interfered and continued to separate and conquer.

Tidbits

• LA Knight was arrested after footage of Knight attacking AJ Styles in his home was released by WWE’s digital squad. The team was supposedly shooting a doc on Styles when Knight was caught in the act.
• Jade Cargill will make her first appearance on SmackDown following her dominating performance at the Royal Rumble. She is officially signed to the Friday brand.