Smackdown is the opening preview to WrestleMania!

SmackDown sets the stage in Los Angeles, and before WrestleMania Weekend, we get one last face-to-face between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Fatal 4 Way: Montez Ford w/ Angelo Dawkins VS Chad Gable w/ Otis VS Erik w/ The Viking Raiders VS Ricochet w/ Braun Strowman; Ricochet wins.
• Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Bobby Lashley wins.
• Fatal 4 Way: Raquel Rodriguez w/ Liv Morgan VS Natalya w/ Shotzi Blackheart VS Sonya Deville w/ Chelsea Green VS Shayna Baszler w/ Ronda Rousey; Raquel wins.
• Drew McIntyre & Sheamus VS Imperium; McIntyre & Sheamus win.

PLAY BY PLAY

The Usos head to the ring!

Los Angeles is torn as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, Jimmy & Jey, are here on the 621st day of their reign. The Usos get the mics and Jey says, “Ey, ey! The Bloodline is now in your city!” Jimmy says, “Here we go. Tonight is the last SmackDown before the biggest tag team match of all time. On the Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania.” But here comes Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens! Sami & Kevin have mics, and after the fans sing the song, Sami says, “Alright, Uce. You’re right. You’re right. We’re one night away from the biggest tag team championship match in WWE history.

“That’s tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, we put an end to all of this once and for all.” Sami and Kevin join the Usos in the ring and Sami says tonight, before they take the Usos’ tag team titles, Sami & Kevin make sure there is nothing left unsaid between them. So let’s put it all on the table. Kevin says there is something the Usos need to know. Kevin is actually pretty conflicted. There’s a lot of history between them, and it goes beyond all that happened these past seven to eight months. Because when Kevin got started in the WWE, the ones who made Kevin feel welcomed was The Usos. The Usos made him feel at home in the locker room.

Kevin remembers bringing his son on the road with him, and the Usos would stay in the back with him, play with him, and that made Kevin feel the Usos were guys he could look up to. It was the same for everyone else, they all looked up to the Usos. That is, until they started doing their cousin’s bidding. And then Kevin lost all respect. And then it only got worse when The Usos- Look at him when he’s talking to you! The two of them tried to take Kevin’s career! Kevin’s livelihood! If not for Sami, Kevin wouldn’t be standing here today, but he is! Look at him when he says this: there’s a part of Kevin that doesn’t wanna do what he has to do tomorrow night.

But there’s also a part of him that can’t wait to do it! And Kevin looks into Jey’s eyes, looks in Jimmy’s eyes, and he sees it, he hears it in their voice, that they know what’s gonna happen. “And boys, let me reassure you, it ain’t paranoia! We are talking your tag team titles at WrestleMania!” Fans fire up for that! Jimmy laughs that off. “Y’know what, Kevin? You absolutely right, Uce. When you first came here, hell yeah me and Uce showed you love. Because that’s the kind of people we are.” But The Usos here today ain’t got no love for Kevin, and damn sure ain’t got no love for Sami.

Talking about conflicted? The only two conflicted are “you two chumps,” Kevin & Sami. “I don’t want you. I want to be with you. You’re my brother. You’re not my brother.” This right here IS brotherhood! This is what Kevin & Sami wish they had! This is family, homie! This is blood! This is- Sami says this is something Jimmy keeps forgetting. Blood? Guess what? Blood’s not the only thing that makes you family. Loyalty makes you family! Jey asks what Sami knows about loyalty! What does Sami know? Maybe Sami should remind Jey that he was loyal to Jey from Day One! To Jimmy from day one! Sami was loyal the whole time!

The USOS were the ones who chose blood over loyalty! They chose Roman Reigns because he’s blood, even though he’s never been loyal to Jimmy, and especially never been loyal to Jey! Fans fire up again as Jey takes a moment. Sami says this is something Jey’s never told you. The pressure of the Bloodline has always been on the Usos. So here’s one last favor: Sami puts them out of their misery, because at Mania, Sami & Kevin ARE taking those titles! And when they do, that’s the end. That is the end of Roman, of the Bloodline, of all of it! Then they can go back to being themselves!

They can go back to being guys Kevin talked about! The guys the locker room loves! The guys the fans love! They can just be the Usos! Just without the titles. Jey starts to snarl as fans rally up with “UCEY! UCEY!” Kevin says Jey can hear it, and Sami says that’s how it’s gonna happen. Jey shakes his head and says, “Nah, nah, nah. That ain’t it. I’ma tell you what it is. It’s gonna be the same thing with you two that it always is. You’re gonna lose the big match. And Kevin Owens is gonna stab you in the back, again.”

Meanwhile, the Usos will do what they’ve been doing the past 600 days. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be standing in the ring with the greatest tag team of all time. The EIGHT-TIME tag team champs! Yessir! The longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history! YESSIR! And talking about the Bloodline gonna fall? Welcome to WrestleMania! This right here is BloodlineMania! And after the title match, when the smoke clears, they’re gonna say… “And still your WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions, Jimmy & Jey, the UUUUSOOOOS~!” The Usos throw down the mics but Kevin & Sami aren’t flinching. Who will be the ones to hold all the gold?

But wait! Here come the Street Profits! Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins are dressed in their Lakers best while staring down the Usos. The Profits were on the winning end in the 8 Man Tag from Raw, but will they be up after this Fatal 4 Way?

Fatal 4 Way: Montez Ford w/ Angelo Dawkins VS Chad Gable w/ Otis VS Erik w/ The Viking Raiders VS Ricochet w/ Braun Strowman!

SmackDown returns and the other teams have made their entrance, with the King of Flight and Monster of All Monsters being last. The bell rings and the four circle. They approach, feel things out, but then Gable goes after Ford and Erik is after Ricochet! They throw hands, Gable throat chops Ford and Erik throws body shots on Ricochet. Erik runs but Ricochet dumps him out! Ford tosses Gable, he and Ricochet bump into each other. Fans fire up seeing these two stare down, and then Ricochet tackles Ford! Things speed up, Ford hurdles but Ricochet waistlocks. Ford bucks the O’Conner but Ricochet handsprings.

Ford sidesteps then waistlocks, but not Ricochet bucks the O’Connor. Ford handsprings up and does a dance. Fans cheer and even Ricochet respects the moves. Gable returns and says “SHOOSH~!” Then he shows his dance moves, such as the crab walk. He turns around, into DOUBLE DROPKICKS! Erik returns and Ricochet wants him to stay cool. Erik doesn’t dance, he runs in, but he gets DOUBLE DROPKICKS, too! Ricochet shows his dance moves, then he and Ford DOUBLE PLANCHA! They both get caught! FALL AWAY SLAM for Ford, EXPLODER for Ricochet! Gable and Erik then stare down, talk some trash, but go back for Ricochet and Ford.

Gable RAMS Ricochet into steel steps! Erik drags Ford up, POSTS him, and Gable puts Ricochet in the ring. Gable goes after Ricochet to whip corner to corner. Ricochet goes up and over but Gable CLUBS him down! Gable gets the leg, DRAGON SCREW! Erik DECKS Gable! Erik drags Ricochet up, ROCKS him to a corner, then throws body shots. Erik backs up to run back in, but into a BOOT! Ricochet goes up but “Valhalla” Sarah Logan shouts. Ricochet is distracted, Erik rushes in but Ricochet jumps up and over. Ricochet runs back in, but Erik CLOBBERS him! Gable FLYING CLOTHESLINES Erik down! “A Thank Yew~!” as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and while Gable has Ricochet on one corner, Erik has Ford on the opposite. Ricochet and Ford resists the superplexes, fight back, and Ricochet HEADBUTTS Gable down! Erik still SUPERPLEXES Ford! Gable hurries up after Ricochet, for a SUPER BELLY2BELLY! All four men are down and fans fire up! The other teammates all coach their partners up, Erik is after Ford. Ford dodges the haymaker to LARIAT! Ford LARITS Gable, dodges Ricochet, and comes back to UPPERCUT! Ford runs in at Erik, is put on the apron and GAMANGIRIS! Ford goes up to CROSSBODY Erik down!

Gable rushes up, Ford bobs ‘n’ weaves to then BACKHAND! Ford shakes the ropes he’s all fired up! But Ricochet FLYING LARIATS! Gable O’Conner Rolls to CHAOS THEORY! Bridging cover, Erik breaks it! Fans fire up while all four men are down again! Erik snarls and rises up, and he looks at Gable and Ford. Erik dares Gable to get up but Ford’s up first. Erik ducks the enziguri to Ace Ten Maou! Then Erik URENAGES Gable onto Ford! Stack on Gable, TWO!! Gable survives so Erik covers Ford, TWO!! Both men hang tough but Erik frowns. Erik stalks Ford, brings him up and back suplexes, but Ford lands on his feet! ENZIGURI!

Ford builds speed to FLY! Direct hit onto Erik, Gable and even Otis! Ford puts Gable in, goes up top, FROM THE HEAVENS!!  But Ford bounces off and Ricochet SHOOTING STAR PRESS!! Cover, Ricochet wins!!

Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall

In the blink of an eye, the One and Only takes the win! Braun celebrates with his teammate, but will this go their way when all eight men can get involved?

The Bloodline is together in the private suite.

Roman Reigns walks in and everyone stands at attention. Roman sits, the rest sit, and the Tribal Chief looks very serious. Will he be ready for the face-to-face with Cody Rhodes later tonight?

A staffer exits The Great Muta’s locker room.

And from all the green on his face, he got misted!

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal!

Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, Rick Boogs, Elias, Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali, Xavier Woods, Madcap Moss, Baron Corbin, Bronson Reed, Karrion Kross, LA Knight, Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, Maximum Male Models’ Maçé & Mansöôr, Hit Row’s Top Dolla & Ashante THEE Adonis, The Brawling Brutes’ Ridge Holland & “Butch” Pete Dunne, Los Lotharios’ Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo, Legado del Fantasma’s Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro, The OC’s Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, and The All Mighty Bobby Lashley are ALL in this match! But only one can win, so who writes their name down in history?

SmackDown returns and BRAUN is joining this battle royal, making this a whole lot bigger. The bell rings and chaos ensues! Dolla is after Woods, Boogs and Elias work together as student and teacher, and they ELIMINATE Corbin!! A previous winner is out so soon?! Fans fire up but Corbin is furious! The Good brothers and Kross go after Los Lotharios. Dawkins, Ivar and Otis got into this match too, it seems, and uh, Lumis is just standing in a corner… Gargano finds Lumis, they just hang back a minute to watch the chaos keep going. Top Dolla & Adonis go after Lashley! Hit Row wants after the All Mighty!

But Lashley fights them off with big haymakers! Lashley clotheslines Dolla up and out to ELIMINATE him! Then he TOSSES Adonis out onto Dolla to ELIMINATE him, too! Braun TOSSES Wilde to ELIMINATE him! Ziggler fights off Otis, Ridge scoops Humberto, and Kross CHOKES Escobar on the ropes. Knight brawls with Mace to revisit the days of Max Du-PRI! Dawkins and Ivar brawl, but Mace DUMPS them both out to ELIMINATE them!! Even Mace seems surprised he pulled that off. He and Mansoor finger boop, and then Otis walks up to boop, too! But then the MMM pick Otis up! But Lumis DUMPS Mace to ELIMINATE him!

Mansoor freaks out, but then he stares into Lumis’ eyes. Gargano SUPERKICKS Mansoor and sends him flying out to ELIMINATE him! Cruz goes after Gargano, Kross throws hands on Ridge, Otis TOSSES Karl to ELIMINATE him! Gallows fires off on Otis but Otis TOSSES and ELIMINATES Gallows! Otis took out both Good Brothers alone! Otis and Bruan work on Elias but he fights back. Ali throws Ziggler out but Ziggler holds on! Ali goes after the hands but Ziggler grabs the bottom rope. Otis tries to push Elias but Boogs is after Otis! Boogs and Elias DUMP and ELIMINATE Otis!! Boogs and Elias hug, but Los Lotharios BLAST and ELIMINATE Elias!!

Boogs is furious, he ROCKS Garza, scoops Humberto and SMACKS Garza! Garza falls out, Boogs ELIMINATES him! Then he TOSSES Carrillo out onto him and Otis to ELIMINATE him! Fans shout “BOOOOGS~!” as he BOOGS OUT! The chaos is still going on around him, though, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Moss TOSSES and ELIMINATES Lumis! Fans boo but then Knight tosses Woods up and out to the apron. Kross is there to BLAST Woods down and ELIMINATE him! Fans boo more, Ali goes after Moss but Kross talks trash. Ali sends Ziggler up and out, Ziggler still holds on but Ali goes after him. Ziggler drags Ali up and over to join him! Both men fight on the apron while holding on. Dunne and Moss CHOP back and forth, then Moss UPPERCUTS! Ali BOOTS Ziggler, but Knight BLASTS Ali and ELIMINATES him! “YEAH!” But Kross wraps on the KROSSJACKET!! Fans boo as Knight fades out!

Lashley puts Ziggler in a HURT LOCK! Dueling submissions, but Kross and Lashley notice each other. They rush in, Lashley gets around to nelson! Kross elbows free, wrenches and- NO, Lashley fights the saido to fireman’s carry! Fans fire up for Bobby but Kross slips off and shoves. Lsahley throws Kross up and out but Kross holds on! Lashley goes after fingers while Moss brawls with Bronson Reed. Boogs is after Braun, Bronson TOSSES and ELIMINATES Moss! Dunne DROPKICKS Cruz! Braun CLOBBERS Boogs out of the ring to ELIMINATE him! Ridge is after Ziggler, and now Braun meets Bronson.

The Colossal Aussie and the Monster of All Monsters talk trash, but Lashley TOSSES and ELIMINATES Ziggler! Now the All Mighty has joined the fun. Bronson ROCKS Lashley, Braun BOOTS Bronson, and Lashley fires off on Braun! Lashley runs to clothesline Bronson, then he runs in, into a scoop! Lashley slips free to get a half nelson! Braun fights off the full nelson and RAMS Lashley into the corner! But then Bronson SPLASHES them both!! Ridge grabs Bronson for a HEADBUTT! Dunne ENZIGURIS! The Brutes LARIAT ENZIGURI SANDWICH! Gargano runs in, Dunne blocks a kick, ducks, and the ENZIGURI hits Ridge!

Dunne STOMPS Gargano’s hands then BUZZSAWS him! Then BITTER- FINAL BEAT!! But Knight grabs Gargano, only to get an elbow! Gargano runs, into a FLAPJACK! Knight TOSSES Gargano, but Gargano holds on! Gargano skins the cat, Knight turns around into an EXPLODER from Kross! Escobar RANAS Kross! Gargano SLINGSHOT SPEARS Escobar! Lashley MILE HIGH SPINEBUSTERS Gargano!! Lashley and Braun scoop Gargano and Escobar, they TOSS them and ELIMINATE them! Bronson stands, Dunne runs in but Bronson TOSSES him out! Dunne holds on, Ridge fireman’s carries Bronson!?

But Bronson fights off, and he clotheslines Ridge out to ELIMINATE him! Bronson wants Dunne but Dunne GAMANGIRIS! Bronson knocks into Knight, but Bronson BLASTS Dunne off the apron! Ridge catches Dunne! Ridge puts Dunne back in the ring and Dunne clamps on a SLEEPER! Bronson TOSSES Dunne off the other side to ELIMINATE him! Knight fires off hands on Bronson! Bronson HEADBUTTS and TOSSES Knight! Knight holds on but Bronson HIP ATTACKS! Knight CLAWS Bronson’s eyes! Knight pushes Bronson to ropes and LA goes nuts for LA! But Bronson is too much to shove!

Knight throws hands, but Bronson fireman’s carries to TOSS Knight! Bronson ELIMINATES Knight!! Fans boo but the final three are all GIANTS! Lashley goes after Braun while Bronson catches his breath. But Lashley SPLASHES him in the corner! And then one for Braun! Another for Bronson! Another for Braun! Lashley ROCKS Braun, runs again, but into a scoop! MONSTER SLAM!! But Bronson pushes Braun to ropes! Braun goes up and over but he holds on! Bronson kicks Braun, runs, and BLASTS Braun down to ELIMINATE him!! Now Bronson just has Lashley! Bronson goes up the corner!? TSUNAMI FLOPS!!

Lashley runs to SPEAR Bronson!! Fans fire up with Lashley, but Bronson reverses the whip! Lashley goes up and over but holds on! Lashley hurries in to toss Bronson and WIN!!

Winner: Bobby Lashley

The ninth man to win the match that honors the eighth wonder of the world is none other than The All Mighty! Lashley poses with the trophy, will this be a huge springboard for Lashley to get back towards the top?

Fatal 4 Way: Raquel Rodriguez w/ Liv Morgan VS Natalya w/ Shotzi Blackheart VS Sonya Deville w/ Chelsea Green VS Shayna Baszler w/ Ronda Rousey!

Just as we saw with the men, one half of each team headed to the WrestleMania Showcase compete 1v1v1v1. Will Big Mami Cool, the Queen of Harts, the Pride Fighter or the Queen of Spades be in the lead going into the Showcase of the Immortals?

SmackDown returns as the Baddest Women on the Planet make their entrance, everyone else already waiting. The bell rings and the four circle. Sonya then wants the others to hold on, and she tells Natty & Raquel that Shayna didn’t qualify for this match, so that’s not cool. They do agree, so they all go after Shayna! Well, Sonya slips away, letting Natty & Raquel do the dirty work. Raquel and Natty throw Shayna out, then Sonya goes after Raquel! Natty goes after Sonya, rolls her up, TWO! Natty CLOBBERS Sonya and Sonya bails out. Raquel and Natty circle, they tie up and Natty headlocks.

Raquel powers out, Natty ducks ‘n’ dodges to tilt-o-whirl, but Raquel holds the rest off. Raquel shoves Natty away, Natty wheelbarrows but Raquel blocks the victory roll! But Sonya BOOTS Raquel down! Natty finishes the roll-up, but Sonya then BULLDOGS Natty! Cover, TWO! Sonya hurries to cover Raquel, TWO! Chelsea complains on Sonya’s behalf, but Sonya storms up on Raquel. Sonya fires off hands but Natty rolls her up again! ONE, into the SHARPSHOOTER! Fans fire up while Sonya endures! But Shayna returns, KIRAFUDA KLUTCH on Natty! Natty powers Shayna to a corner, throws elbows, but Shayna goes up!

Shayna has a HANGING SLEEPER! But Raquel double fireman’s carries?! Fans fire up for the DOUBLE- CHOP BLOCK as Sonya returns! Sonya gloats, but runs into a KICK! Natty DISCUS LARIATS Shayna! Raquel BOOTS Natty! Sonya returns again, knees low, and she POSTS Raquel! Sonya shoves Raquel down, goes up the corner, and waits, for the FLYING- NO! Raquel catches Sonya, pops her up, BOOTS Shayna down, and then hits the TEXANA BOMB! Cover, Raquel wins!!

Winner: Raquel Rodriguez, by pinfall

Liv celebrates with Ricky Desperado as their team is now rolling into the Showcase! Will they be #LivingLarge this WrestleMania weekend?

JBL finds Rey Mysterio backstage.

These two rivals, now good friends, talk and reminisce. The Hall of Fame is on after SmackDown on Peacock and the WWE Network, what stories will we hear when the King of Lucha Libre is inducted?

Heyman talks with Roman in the suite.

What is the Wise Man telling the Tribal Chief ahead of the face to face? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Legado meet with Rey backstage.

Escobar, Cruz, Wilde and Zelina are excited for Rey tonight, but ask why he wanted to see them. Rey says he wanted to thank them for the save on Raw against the Judgment Day. Of course! That’s the least they can do for the one legend they admire and respect. A Hall of Famer, too! And as a father, Escobar’s heart breaks for what Rey is going through. Escobar just hopes that Rey teaches Dominik a lesson at WrestleMania. Yes, exactly. It’ll be one Dom will never forget. Escobar adds that if the Judgment Day tries to play the numbers game, Legado will have Rey’s back. Rey appreciates that. But if they’re gonna do it, do it in style.

What? What’s Rey fetching? He hands out shirts to everyone, and when they unfold them…it’s the L W O!! For real!? ENSERIO! This is the NEW Latin World Order! Rey brings back a legendary group, will the LWO be just the thing to stop the Judgment Day?

Drew McIntyre & Sheamus VS Imperium!

The Scottish Warrior and Celtic Warrior reforge the Celtic Connection one last time to take on Der Ring General’s soldiers. Though, McIntyre can’t even let Sheamus finish his entrance before making his, so will their team completely fall apart? Or will they just take out all their frustrations on Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci before both going after the Intercontinental Champion?

SmackDown returns as Imperium makes their entrance, with Gunter watching backstage. The teams sort out and McIntyre even snipes starting against Vinci! They tie up, go around, end up in a corner, and McIntyre lets off. Sheamus and McIntyre glare at each other, but Vinci goes after McIntyre in the distraction! Vinci throws hands, whips, but McIntyre reverses to hip toss! Vinci handsprings through, but then McIntyre blocks the hip toss to CLOBBER Vinci! McIntyre stands Vinci up to CHOP! McIntyre scoops, Vinci slips free and tags Ludwig. GAMANGIRI for McIntyre, then a mugging!

The ref counts, the fans boo, and Imperium lets off at 4. Ludwig taunts McIntyre, whips, but McIntyre holds ropes. McIntyre BOOTS Ludwig away, Sheamus tags in and climbs up to FLYING CLOTHESLINE! Sheamus CLOBBERS Ludwig, clotheslines him in the corner, then scoops. Ludwig fights free, whips Sheamus away, but Sheamus holds ropes. Ludwig UPPERCUTS, but Sheamus dumps Ludwig out! Ludwig hurries to his feet but Sheamus has him now! Fans fire up for the BEATS OF THE BODHRAIN! Sheamus winds up to make TEN a real hard one! Fans fire up more, Sheamus aims from the corner, but McIntyre tags in!

Sheamus is upset and shoves McIntyre but McIntyre shoves him back. The two argue, but Imperium runs in to fire off hands! McIntyre brawls with Ludwig, Sheamus TOSSES Vinci, and then GLASGOW KISS! McIntyre TOSSES Ludwig out hard, and then he stares down with Sheamus again. Gunther is not happy either way and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Imperium has Sheamus stuck in the corner. Ludwig and Vinci both run in, DOUBLE DROPKICKS at the corner! Sheamus slumps down, Ludwig covers, TWO! Ludwig clamps onto Sheamus with a chinlock and smothers him. McIntyre paces on the apron while Gunther still watches. Sheamus fights up, throws body shots, then powers out, to hit an IRISH CURSE BACKBREAKER! Both men are down, fans rally up, and McIntyre is conflicted. But he stomps the steps to fire up, and he tags in off Sheamus! Vinci tags in, but McIntyre rallies on him with big clotheslines!

McIntyre whips Vinci to ropes, then OVERHEAD Belly2Belly suplexes! Then he clinches in the corner to BELLY2BELLY again! Ludwig runs in, to get a NECKBREAKER! Vinci runs in, he also gets a NECKBREAKER! McIntyre kips up and fans fire up! McIntyre aims from a corner, and fans join in on the countdown! “THREE! TWO!” ONE!” Sheamus tags in! McIntyre is annoyed now, but turnabout is fair play. They argue more, Vinci DROPKICKS them into each other! HIGH LOW on Sheamus! Cover, TWO!! Sheamus survives and Vinci grows frustrated. Vinci short arm- NO, Sheamus dodges to KNEE Vinci down!

Fans fire up as Sheamus aims from a corner. Sheamus beats his chest as fans clap along. Vinci stands, into the BROGUE!! Ludwig is back, CLAYMORE from McIntyre! Sheamus covers, he and McIntyre win!

Winners: Sheamus & Drew McIntyre, by pinfall

The Celtic Connection pulls off the win, and that disappoints Gunther even more. But with the tensions running high, will Gunther even be involved in the finish? Or will Sheamus and McIntyre take each other out and allow Gunther to survive?

Cody Rhodes heads to the ring!

Fans fire up as The American Nightmare is here for the final face-to-face. He has the smoke, the pyro, and fans sing along with the song. Cody gets the mic and says, “So, Los Angeles, Inglewood, Hollywood… What do you wanna talk about? We could talk about how we are at the end of the road. This is it. We sit at the precipice of the biggest event in sports entertainment history, WrestleMania is here. And on this ride, all of you had sat shotgun with me. So you see that all my cards are left on the table, no ace in the hole. I get here this week, the media starts, the appearances start, the teleconferences start.

“You start to think about scheduling your work out, making sure your nutrition’s all dialed in, leaving no stone unturned so that when I show up on Sunday, I execute, I do what I’ve been telling you I can do, and I become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.” Fans chant for “CODY! CODY!” and Cody says when it comes to Sunday, the actual day for himself, as a man and an athlete, he is the most prepared he has ever been. But in the spirit of full transparency, here in this moment, holding this mic, he feels widely unprepared. When he said “What do you wanna talk about?” they could literally talk about anything! They could!

Because the fans want a showdown, a duel! There’s been enough talk, it’s time to fight! Fans fire up for that! Cody says he could do a ditty, maybe Tupac’s part in the song, California Love. Out on bail, fresh outta jail, California dreamin’. Soon as I step on the scene, I’m hearin’ hoochies screamin’, for money and alcohol and…” Fans love it! Cody says the rest of that is a little too adult for Fox, so he’ll stop there. The fans can look it up. Cody could talk about gratitude. How grateful he is that the fans welcomed him back and welcomed Cody’s audience come with him. He appreciates the fans so much.

The fans allow Cody to be Cody, to be emotional, even while projecting perfection. He’s trying to be composed, to show poise, and usually that is an indication that something is broken inside. Cody’s not alone in saying something is broken inside. The only medicine is defeating Roman Reigns. Fans like the sound of that! “And speaking of our champion… The last time we stood face to face, he laid the titles down in front of me, told me I couldn’t even be the guy in my own company, which is odd, because Roman Reigns is an 11 year, tens-of-millions-of-dollars investment on the behalf of the WWE telling you that he’s the guy, and it only started paying off in year eight.”

Oh, it’s all good! Thought we were shootin’ here, cowboys. There’s something else Roman says, and this one stuck with Cody. Roman said everyone thinks that they’re The Guy, until they meet The Guy. So then allow Cody to introduce himself, Roman. He’s not just Dusty’s son, he’s not just Dashing, he’s not Dust, but he is Roman’s successor. He is the next Head of the Table. He his the American Nightmare, and he is the next Undisputed Universal Champion! Fans fire up for that! Cody says on WrestleMania Sunday, Cody finishes the- Here comes Roman! Cody gets a bit of a smirk as he looks to the stage.

Roman, with only Paul Heyman by his side, walks out and holds up the belts for his pyro. Roman and Heyman continue down the ramp, into the ring, and Heyman gets a mic while Roman circles Cody. Fans are torn, which annoys Roman. Heyman hands over the mic, and Roman says, “Los Angeles. Y’know what, Wise Man?” “Yes, My Tribal Chief?” “I don’t care about any of them.” The fans boo but Roman looks at Cody. Roman says it is not their turn, it is Cody’s. “Cody Rhodes. ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” Roman drops the mic and he specifically holds up the black World Championship. Roman has said what he needed to say. But will Cody have the last word on this story?

My Thoughts:

Another great go-home from WWE this week, though I will say this one had a touch of the go-home syndrome with video hype packages to fill time. We got an awesome opening promo segment, though, with the Usos, Kevin & Sami having their own face-to-face moment to bookend with the one we got out of Cody and Roman. Both of those segments were great because we got great reference back to the early days for Usos, Kevin and Sami to show this is personal not just for Sami and the Bloodline but even for Kevin. And in the closing segment, Cody did the majority of the talking that got everyone really hyped, and then Roman just keeps it simple to his catchphrase. The promos don’t really add anything to the go-home math, but I’m still thinking the Bloodline loses everything at once.

Great parallels tonight out of the Fatal 4 Way matches, too. The Women’s was shorter, but that was a great showing from Raquel just dominating and winning it for her team. Still betting on Shayna & Ronda winning the tag match. The men’s was wild and chaotic, in a good way. Fitting they’re in LA cuz Ricochet and Ford are Fast ‘n’ Furious. The one-two air attack giving Ricochet the win was great. Not sure the chances of the mashed together team of Braun & Ricochet, but fans do love both guys so that’d be a big moment. Honestly, the winners of each match should be set up as contenders going into Backlash, so Heels might end up winning at least one.

Braun also had a good showing in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but they made it just a little obvious who was winning. Everyone outside of Lashley and Braun got their own entrances, so it was gonna be one of them. And with Lashley not doing anything for WrestleMania anymore with Bray Wyatt out on injury, it makes sense they’d want to give him this. But I like that they let Bronson Reed be in there at the end with him. The LA fans really wanted LA Knight to win, Bronson got huge heat eliminating him, and maybe now Bronson and Lashley can feud going towards Backlash.

Great moment with Rey and Legado del Fantasma backstage as they become the new LWO. That concept was bouncing around for a long time, at least among fans and rumor mills, so it is great to see something come of it. And great tag team “main event” with McIntyre & Sheamus beating Imperium. Gunther watching backstage the whole time was a logical move, as he wouldn’t be a distraction for McIntyre & Sheamus, but also wouldn’t be in danger of getting hit as collateral damage. McIntyre & Sheamus winning would suggest Gunther retains, which is great for him but a shame for Sheamus. Either way, that Triple Threat could be the hardest hitting match of the whole weekend and we’re all gonna love it.

My Score: 8.8/10