Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes finally came face to face on the March 3 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Rhodes returned from a torn pectoral at WWE Royal Rumble, and he won the men’s battle royal to earn a world title shot at WWE WrestleMania 39. He was set to challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but “The Tribal Chief” was wrapped up in a feud with Sami Zayn. Reigns defeated Zayn to retain the gold, so his WrestleMania match against Rhodes was officially confirmed.
Rhodes came to the blue brand on Friday night and stated that he wanted to talk to Reigns man-to-man. He noted that he didn’t see a reason why Reigns’ Bloodline stablemates needed to be there, and the champion dismissed them. Rhodes started by taking about Reigns’ lengthy title run before he brought up his own journey, including a referenced to All In. He noted that he has continued to defy the odds and punch through barriers, including when he and his “buddies” sold out a “little indie show.”
Reigns turned the tables and noted that Rhodes had never won a world title, let alone headlined WrestleMania. He brought up Rhodes’ father, Dusty Rhodes. He stated that Dusty groomed him to be a main-eventer, and he described the way the legend helped teach him. Reigns said that Dusty never said anything about Cody to him. He stated that he missed Dusty. He then told Cody he’d teach him anything that Dusty didn’t.
Rhodes recalled Reigns line about being the son Dusty always wanted. He stated that he needs to beat Reigns at WrestleMania and told him, “May the better man win.”
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