ACKNOWLEDGE the Road to WrestleMania!

Roman Reigns is STILL WWE Universal Champion, and Cody Rhodes is ONCE AGAIN the Royal Rumble Winner. Will SmackDown start to finish the story?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Kevin Owens VS Austin Theory w/ Grayson Waller; Kevin wins.
• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Contenders Fatal 4 Way Qualifier: Pretty Deadly VS Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde VS Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo VS Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate; Dunne & Bate win and advance to the #1 contender’s match.
• Six Man Tag: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits VS The Final Testament; No Contest.
• Tiffany Stratton VS Mia Yim; Tiffany wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

The Bloodline arrives backstage.

The Tribal Chief leads the way to the private suite, and the Wise Man opens the door for him, Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa. Roman Reigns is still the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Champion, but a certain American Nightmare could be coming after him. Will Roman be ready to #FinishTheStory?

Cody Rhodes is also in the building.

The American Nightmare walks Pharaoh around backstage, will there be a new “top dog” in WWE soon enough?

Logan Paul is here!

Birmingham, Alabama is less than excited to see the Maverick, who is still WWE United States Champion by perhaps sheer luck. Logan goes to the ring, gets a mic, and smiles as the fans boo. Logan says, “Wow, I was gonna be nice.” But if they don’t want him here, he doesn’t wanna be here, either. This place sucks. But to be honest, Logan underestimated Kevin Owens. He did! Upon first glance, Kevin looks like a pissed off donut. But hey, in their match, Kevin made Logan fight. Get this: Kevin Owens did more damage to Logan Paul than Floyd Mayweather. Serious! Kevin made Logan bleed! Hell, Kevin even damn near knocked Logan out!

And yet… Kevin still lost. Hey, hey, Logan’s still the champ, so when is it gonna click for y’all? He is one of the toughest people on this brittle roster. “Oh~, I hurt my triceps~!” Logan of course mocking CM Punk. “My knee hurts! My WrestleMania dreams are crushed! Shut up! We all get hurt! Everyone except me. I’m unbreakable, un-replicable, one of one! The Beast from the East! The Best in the West! I AM your United States Champion, Logan Paul.” The fans boo more but he says if you think- Kevin Owens is here! The fans fire up as the Prizefighter makes his way out, mic in hand.

Logan sits up on a corner while the fans cheer Kevin on. Kevin says he doesn’t know, though. Birmingham seems like a great place to me. And hold on, he wasn’t done. We’ve heard enough of Logan. Logan going over his own descriptions, he forgot “unbearable idiot.” But Kevin has to say, he got the moral victory. As great as being US Champion might be, it feels even better to knock the hell out of Logan. But Kevin is absolutely ready to restore a certain level of prestige and honor to that title, and the first step is taking it off Logan and getting the belt sanitized.

Logan says good for Kevin, but too bad he didn’t take advantage of his one and only shot at the title. Cuz the brass knuckles was a set-up! Kevin took the bait! He showed his true colors! Logan was playing chess, Kevin was plying Go Fish. Logan outsmarted Kevin! Who does Logan think he’s talking to? This may be new to Logan but the fans have been watching Kevin for ten years now. They all know that Kevin will stop at nothing to win. Hit someone from behind? snatch the brass knucks? Absolutely! But the thing is, Kevin got caught. And he realizes that everyone was mad at the ref for that, but honestly, great job on that guy! Fantastic work!

Kevin got caught, that’s on him. But here’s the thing, Logan. The next time they get in the ring together, you’ll see Kevin doesn’t need brass knucks to beat Logan’s dumb ass. Logan says first off, Kevin’s way too close, he smells bad. Oh, Kevin bathed in Prime energy drink before he got here. Then not Cherry Freeze, that stuff is delicious. But no, Kevin isn’t getting a rematch, he blew it. Go focus on something else, and Logan will do what he does which is be amazing. Then he’ll find a real challenger, someone that is not Kevin. Focus on tonight against Austin Theory while Logan talks smack from commentary.

And here comes A-Town Down! Will Kevin prove he’s the only one worthy of humbling Logan Paul?

Kevin Owens VS Austin Theory w/ Grayson Waller!

SmackDown returns and the bell rings. The two tie up, Kevin waistlocks but Theory switches. Kevin elbows free, fires hands, then headlocks. Kevin hits the takeover, makes it a cover, ONE! Theory fights up, powers up but can’t power out as Kevin grinds the headlock. Kevin says this is how you wrestle! The fans rally for Kevin, Theory powers up again and powers out. Kevin runs Theory over! Fans fire up as things speed up, and Theory hurdles, only to run into an arm-drag! Kevin clamps onto the arm with a cording hold, then taunts Logan. Logan says okay and gives a thumbs up. Theory fights up, puts Kevin on ropes, then swings, Kevin ducks to CHOP!

Kevin ROCKS Theory, but Theory kicks low. Theory throws hands, whips but Kevin reverses to ELBOW Theory down! Kevin SENTONS but onto knees! Theory rains down fists while fans boo. Waller and Logan applaud but they’re the only ones. Theory puts Kevin on ropes to CHOKE him, but the ref counts. Theory lets off at 4, then he soaks up the heat. Kevin goes to a corner but Theory throws down hands! Theory digs his knee in, the ref counts, and Theory lets off again. Theory paces around, drags Kevin up and whips him corner to corner. Kevin reverses, runs in, but Theory drop toeholds Kevin into buckles!

Theory goes out to somersault in but Kevin avoids the shotgun, to SENTON clean this time! The fans fire up as Kevin keeps moving, “SUCK IT!” CANNONBALL in the corner! Cover, TWO! Theory flounders but Kevin snarls and goes out to the apron. Kevin drags Theory up but Theory throws forearms! Theory reels Kevin in, says this is it, but Kevin fights the suplex! Kevin throws body shots, reels Theory in, but Theory back drops free! Kevin hits the apron hard then flops to the floor! Fans boo but Logan is loving it as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Kevin endures a chinlock. Theory leans on the hold and squeezes tight but the fans rally up. Kevin fights up, reaches out, and throws body shots. Kevin is free, then he HEADBUTTS Theory! Kevin whips, Theory reverses but Kevin KICKS him back! Kevin then dodges the lariat to LARIAT in return! Fans fire up while both men are down, and even Logan is wincing from that shot. Theory and Kevin rise, Kevin glares at Logan and fires up. Theory runs up but Kevin fires counter punches! And a CHOP! And another CHOP! And another, and another and another! Then HEADBUTT after HEADBUTT!

Kevin shouts at Logan, “This is MY show, b*tch!!” Kevin whips, Theory reverses but Kevin BOOTS back! Kevin goes up, TORNADO DDT! Kevin then goes outside to climb up, for a SWANTON BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Theory survives and sputters, which Logan applauds. Kevin is frustrated, but the fans are thunderously behind him! Kevin waits on Theory as he stands up, kick and STUN- NO, Theory RAMS Kevin into buckles! Then POSTS him! Theory somersaults, for the BLOCKBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Kevin survives and even Waller and Logan are frustrated! Theory stalks Kevin to a corner, drags him up, and then puts him up top.

Theory climbs, brings Kevin up and Logan says yeah, do it! But Kevin proves Corey Graves right again by denying the superplex! However, Theory escapes the Fisherman Buster! Theory ROCKS Kevin, torture racks him, and then swings for the TOWER HACKER BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Kevin survives and Logan is shocked! Theory is furious, Waller argues with the ref, and Logan gets Theory some brass knuckles! Kevin snatches those, SUPERKICKS Theory, and then Logan protests about knuckles! But this only distracts the ref from seeing Kevin DECK Waller with the knuckles!! Theory runs up, rolls Kevin up, BRASS KNUCKLE for Theory!!

Kevin hides the knuckles this time, then covers, and wins!

Winner: Kevin Owens, by pinfall

Logan is upset but he only has himself to blame on this one! Kevin gets even with Logan through Theory, but then Kevin chases after Logan! Logan runs away into the crowd, but Kevin pursues! Kevin can’t catch Logan, but he shouts again this is HIS show. Will he get himself another shot at the US Championship soon enough?

Rhea Ripley is in the building!

The Women’s World Champion knows Bayley is going to officially decide between her and the WWE Women’s Championship, who will the Role Model choose?

Naomi is officially back on SmackDown!

She shows off her newly signed contract, and Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart & Bianca Belair are all there to celebrate! SmackDown will once again #FeelTheGlow, but then ugh, Tiffany Stratton walks out. She is also officially SmackDown, too. Oh, good for her. Well, she isn’t afraid to step to the “big names” around here. And they will remember her. Then she SLAPS Mia! And runs away! Nick Aldis stops this from getting worse, but Michin says nah, stand on business tonight! She wants to fight Tiffany, TONIGHT! Aldis says done. Will the Center of the Universe wish she’d stayed on NXT after tonight?

Bianca Belair talks with Aldis.

The EST knows that it’s gonna be a great night, and there are big decisions happening, but she just wants to know. When Bayley chooses Rhea Ripley, what does Bianca have to do to get a match with Iyo? Aldis says he has been discussing things with Adam Pearce, they are working on that solution, and he’ll let her know when they have a decision. But then Logan walks in and he practically begs Aldis to give him a new challenger. They’re calling him a part-timer, he needs a new opponent, so long as it is NOT Kevin Owens.

Bianca says excuse you, but they were in a conversation. Yeah, him, too. You’re excused, by the way. But Logan’s mad, okay? Bianca says first off, rude. Second, she doesn’t know who he thinks he is. And third, go find someone else to play with, she is here. Logan doesn’t know what this is, but this is not professional. Please, Aldis, get your show under control and treat your top stars like top stars. Congrats on the reality show, by the way, Logan’s a big fan of Bianca & Ford. Logan heads out, Aldis hopes Logan realizes he was talking to a top star. Bianca agrees there. But what will come of the other championship Bayley doesn’t choose?

Legado Del Fantasma sits down together.

Santos Escobar says he looks around his table, and his heart is filled with joy. He has a true familia, an unbreakable bond. There is nothing more valuable than that. Angel, Humberto, and of course, La Madrina, Elektra Lopez. Welcome back. Oh, she never left. He knows. Santos says they ahve been entrusted to carry the leagcies of their fathers, their grandfathers, brothers, sisters, and the mantle of lucha libre itself! That is why they must eradicate Rey Mysterio’s LWO! A toast to honor, loyalty, and Legado Del Fantasma.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Contenders Fatal 4 Way Qualifier: Pretty Deadly VS Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde VS Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo VS Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate!

The SmackDown Tag Division is stacked, and now two of these eight men will be one step closer to facing Finn Balor & Damian Priest! Will Kit Wilson & Elton Prince survive against the LWO, Legado Del Fantasma AND British Strong Style? Or will another team be headed for Judgment Day?

SmackDown returns and Legado makes their entrance, Lopez with Angel & Humberto. All the others teams are present, but in this Fatal 4, only two are legal at one time. Therefore, Elton Prince starts against the Big Strong Boi in hopes of payback from last time. The bell rings, they tie up and Elton fires off! Elton CLUBS away on Bate, stomps him, throws down more hands, then UPPERCUTS! Elton whips Bate, Bate goes up and over then headlocks! Bate SMACKS Elton with his boot again and again and again! Bate wrenches, tags Dunne, and the fans fire up as the Bruiserweight wrenches to a wristlock.

Dunne twists Elton’s arm, isolates it and STOMPS it! Dunne wrenches, Elton ROCKS him, then tags out to Wilde. Wilde headlocks, Dunne powers out and Bate tags. Cruz tags, Wilde RANAS! but Bate RANAS Wilde! Cruz RANAS Bate, and then Dunne RANAS Cruz! All four men kip up, the fans fire up, but then the other four men BLINDSIDE them! The brawl is on and the fans fire up, but the ref does his best to sort things out. Pretty Deadly says #YESBOY and they celebrate with Legado. But then the brawl reignites! Dunne & Bate TOSS Pretty Deadly, LWO TOSS Angel then CHOP Humberto!

Cruz whips, Humberto reverses but Cruz slips out, Humberto hits buckles, and Cruz goes up, FLYING RANA! Tag to Wilde, he and Cruz coordinate, and they both WRECK Legado and Pretty Deadly! Then they coordinate with British Strong Style, and it’s “time to go viral!” BOOSTED SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY! Wilde flies up the ramp to wipe out Legado & Pretty Deadly! The fans are thunderous as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns and Elton has Wilde in a headlock. The fans rally, Wilde fights up and pries at the hold, but Elton wrangles him back down. Zelina coaches Wilde up again and he fights back up. Wilde reaches out for Dunne but Elton holds him back! Elton reels Wilde in to back suplex, but Wilde lands on his feet! Wilde jukes, hot tag to Dunne! ENZIGIRI for Elton! ENZIGIRI for Kit! ENZI for Angel! ENZI for Humberto! The fans fire up as Dunne STOMPS Elton’s fingers! Then STOMPS them again, then BUZZSAWS! Kit GERMAN SUPLEXES but Dunne lands out, to BUZZSAW! Cruz runs in but Dunne mule kicks.

Dunne reels Cruz in, X-PLEX! Wilde springboards in, into a FOREARM! Fans fire up, but Elton BOOTS Dunne! Kit gets in, ASSISTED GUTBUSTER! AKA Bad Apples! Cover, but Bate breaks it! Bop up, BANG for Elton! Fireman’s carry and the AIRPLANE SPIN! Fans fire up as Bate goes into turbo! Ten fast spins before the SLAM! Bate & Dunne coordinate, REBOUNDER LARIAT GERMAN COMBO! Cover, Legado breaks it! Bate whips, Angel reverses, then POP-UP ASSISTED BOMB! But then the LWO DOUBLE MISSILE DROPKICK! Fans fire up as LWO fires up, builds speed, but Lopez stands in the way!

Fans boo but Zelina YANKS Lopez down! Then she holds the ropes open, LWO DOUBLE TOPE! Then Zelina hits a METEORA and fast hands on Lopez!! The fans are thunderous, but Pretty Deadly try to pull the switcheroo! Dunne grabs Elton, Kit rolls Dunne up! TWO, Dunne DECKS Elton! Then he wrenches Kit, to SNAP the fingers! Tag to Bate, he and Dunne get Kit up, DOUBLE TYLER DRIVER!! Cover, British Strong Style wins!!

Winners: Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne, by pinfall (advance to the #1 contenders match)

The fans fire up and Dunne just shrugs. We wait for Raw’s own Fatal 4, who will rise up to also go for the gold?

Damage Control talks backstage.

More specifically, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane & Asuka talk in Japanese about how things are going. For the most part, they’re thinking Bayley better be choosing Rhea. But in English, Iyo tells the Kabuki Warriors, “Don’t worry about it. Bayley’s done, tonight.” They all laugh, pick up their belts, and head out. But uh, Bayley heard that! Will the Role Model be able to find her way out of this Catch 22?

Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis are in the ring!

With both the Raw and SmackDown General Managers present, Mike Rome introduces the winner of the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble, Bayley! The Role Model makes her way out, DMG CTRL following behind. Bayley shakes hands with both GMs, then gets herself a mic. Bayley glances up at the WrestleMania sign as the fans cheer her on. Bayley says, “Now when I think about WrestleMania, I’ve really done it all. Almost. I’ve defended the Raw Women’s title, I’ve defended the SmackDown Women’s title, I’ve gone out there with the Women’s Tag titles. I’ve even hosted the dang thing!

“But this year… This year’s different, and this year’s special.” She looks to DMG CTRL before saying this year is different because she didn’t get here on her own, and she can admit that. She had lots of ups and downs, mostly downs, but she wasn’t alone. She had her girls! She had something she never had before. DMG CTRL was there for her, supported her. They rode with her, were there for her when she came back to the locker room crying because it wasn’t working out. But DMG CTRL was there for her because this is more than just the best women’s faction of all time. DMG CTRL is family!

The fans boo as DMG CTRL laughs behind Bayley’s back. Bayley looks over and they stop. Bayley continues to say that when she thinks about Mania, she thinks about moments and magic, and about being the best. So to be the best, she has to beat one of the best, and that brings her to Rhea Ripley! Speaking of, Rhea is watching this right now backstage. Fans cheer for “Mami! Mami!” but Bayley then glances back to DMG CTRL. Bayley says she could go a different route. She could fight a different fight. Because sometimes it isn’t about holding a championship or winning a title. Sometimes, it’s more personal.

Sometimes, it comes down to what is in your heart, and proving people wrong. About proving the doubters wrong, showing them you had what it took to go all the way. And sometimes, the people that you thought were your biggest supporters, that you thought were your friends… Sometimes, you have to prove them wrong. Bayley steps to Iyo and asks if they’re done laughing at her. She understands Japanese, too! She picked that up from all the time these three were talking behind her back! Uh oh… Bayley asks if they didn’t think she saw all around her. She’s been in the WWE long enough to have seen and done it all!

They talked about her constantly! Why!? All she wanted was for DMG CTRL to be the best! All she wanted was to take this all to the top, together! But they see nothing in her, do they? HUH!? What happened, Iyo!? When Iyo, Bayley & Dakota started DMG CTRL, they were tight! And ever since Asuka & Kairi came around, Iyo turned on her! What happened!? Asuka & Kairi pounce!! The fans boo but Iyo coordinates as Asuka & Kairi beat up on Bayley! The evil joshi celebrate as they stomp Bayley out of the ring! Pearce and Aldis both reprimand DMG CTRL but Pearce also looks disappointed in Aldis that he couldn’t keep things under control.

Wait, Bayley sneaks something from under the apron skirt. Asuka & Kairi drag Bayley back out of the corner, and she CRACKS them with a steel pipe!! Fans fire up as Bayley runs those two off, and then has a standoff with Iyo! The fans are thunderously behind Bayley, but she doesn’t swing on Iyo. Iyo gets away, to flee with her friends. Bayley grabs the mic to continue, “And about that announcement. Iyo, I’ll see you at WrestleMania!!” The fans fire up again! The Role Model may be without her team, but will she show the Evil Genius she’s not as smart as she thinks?

Six Man Tag: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits VS The Final Testament!

What was meant to be a confrontation before the Rumble turned into a brawl, and then there was a brawl during the Rumble, too! Now, the All Mighty leads Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins in a match against Karrion Kross & The Authors of Pain, which side will write how this story goes?

The teams don’t sort out, they just brawl! The ref reprimands, this has to be a match! Kross and Lashley are in a corner, the Profits DUMP AOP out! The fans fire up but the AOP drag the Profits out to join them! Dawkins POUNCES Rezar! Kross ROCKS Lashley, runs, but into a MILE HIGH SPINEBUSTER! The fans fire up as Lashley goes for the Hurt Lock! Scarlett jumps on to CLAW at Lashley! But B-FAB drags Scarlett down! For a BOOT! Lashley nods, then he dodges Kross to SPEAR! The fans fire up as the Final Testament regroup outside and Lashley’s team regroups inside! No match tonight, but will this only escalate from here?

Nick Aldis meets with Bron Breakker.

The SmackDown GM is showing the Big Bad Booty Nephew a contract, and says everything in there is just as they discussed. All Bron has to do is sign and- Pearce walks in. Pearce isn’t sure what Aldis is trying to sell Bron, but Bron doesn’t have to sign anything until he’s looked over Pearce’s contract on Raw. Aldis asks what Pearce is doing, and Pearce says business, that’s what. Bron tells Aldis that he will hang onto the contract. And he’ll see Pearce on Monday. Yes he will. Bron heads out, Aldis asks what Pearce is playing at. Again, business. What is Aldis playing at? But then in walks Jade Cargill!

Jade asks if now is a good time. Yes, a great time. Adam, if you don’t mind, please exit. Now. Well, okay then, Double Oh Salesman. Pearce tells Jade to watch Aldis, he has an attitude. Pearce leaves, and Aldis welcomes Jade to the show. Will a storm be coming to SmackDown?

Tiffany Stratton VS Mia Yim!

The Wrestling Barbie sure made an impression her first night as a SmackDown superstar, leaving it right on Michin’s face! Will Mia show Tiffany who’s the Head Baddie in Charge? Or will Tiffany do like she always does and make it all about her?

SmackDown returns and Mia makes her entrance, The Good Brothers by her side. They see her off and she joins Tiff in the ring. The bell rings and the two run up, Mia SHOTGUNS Tiff! Mia fires off in a corner, the ref backs her off, but then Mia storms up to bump Tiff off buckles. Mia dribbles Tiff off the buckle, then whips corner to corner hard! Tiff falls, Mia storms up and KICKS her! Mia drags Tiff to then rain down fists! Mia covers, TWO, but Mia drags Tiff around by a leg. Tiff kicks Mia away, Mia kicks Tiff in the back! Mia drags tiff up with a gut wrench, to SUPLEX!

Mia stalks Tiff as she flounders, then drags Tiff up. Mia reels Tiff in, suplexes high and hard, then covers, TWO! Tiff crawls but Mia stays on her. Tiff kicks Mia away again, then bails out. Mia frowns, then runs to WRECK Tiff with a dropkick! Mia goes to the apron but Tiff blocks the kick to trip Mia up! Mia hits apron then falls, and Tiff asks, “What time is it? It’s Tiffy Time!” Fans boo Tiffy Time and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Mia throws forearms on Tiff! Tiff drop toeholds Mia into ropes, then runs to HIP ATTACK! Then Tiff runs to DOUBLE STOMP! Cover, TWO! Tiff says Mia is nothing, then stands her up to- NO, Mia stops the slap to SLAP back! Fans fire up as Mia ROCKS Tiff, CHOPS her, then ROCKS her again! Mia fires off hands, elbows, and then whips. Mia LARIATS Tiff down! YAKUZA KICK! Tiff gets up, into a DROPKICK! Mia runs up to NECKBREAKER! The fans fire up with Mia while Tiff goes to a corner. Mia runs up, blocks a boot and UPPERCUTS!

Mia gets Tiff’s legs open in the ropes, to DRAPING CODE BREAKER! Cover, ROPEBREAK! Mia makes a rookie mistake and that lets the rookie survive! Mia drags Tiff up, reels her in and wrenches, but Tiff refuses to Eat Da Feet! Tiff throws Mia by her hair, then runs, cartwheel and Alabama Lift, to ALABAMA SLAM! Cover, TWO!! Mia survives the Alabama Slam in Alabama, and Tiff is furious! Tiff drags Mia up, fireman’s carries, but Mia slips free! Mia CLUBS Tiff, SOBATS, and PELES! Then Mia drags Tiff up to reel her in, only for Tiff to RAM her into a corner!

Tiff fireman’s carries, for the ROLLING SENTON! Then the PRETTIEST MOONSAULT EVER!! Cover, Tiff wins!

Winner: Tiffany Stratton, by pinfall

Tiff scores a big win for her debut, but is this only the start for the Spoiled Rich Girl?

Aldis and Pearce are in the ring, again.

The GMs are back, and this time, the Tribal Chief makes his way out to join them! Roman has Paul Heyman and his Bloodline following, Mike Rome makes the introduction, and Roman lifts the Universal Championship for the pyro. Then Roman and the Bloodline continue into the ring, then they get more pyro. Heyman hands Roman a mic but the fans chant for “CODY! CODY! CODY!” Roman says, “We’ll get to him. But first, Birmingham, Alabama…! ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” Fans are torn, but Roman says the Wise Man will tell you, Roman doesn’t like to recap. He just wants to move forward.

But there were some things said on Monday that Roman can’t let slide. Roman’s “little brother,” Seth Rollins… See? No pop! Rollins says he’s got THE title? So Roman has to think, “Didn’t I beat everybody competing for that title? Doesn’t that make them all my number twos? Shouldn’t we call that the Loser Bracket title? And then he had the audacity to say that he was The Guy! You can’t be running around here for two years in your wives’ clothes and say you’re The Guy!” Fans boo but Jimmy & Heyman laugh. Roman brings up Rollins talking about being a workhorse, but three months in, he breaks his back trying to carry Raw!

Let Roman ask y’all this: “Do workhorses walk like this?” And then he hobbles and limps around. Fans boo, but Roman says NO! Then Rollins attacks the schedule? This is so simple. Roman works less than Rollins, yes. He works ten times less. And he still makes ten times more! So he’ll ask y’all: You want Rollins level money? Or Tribal Chief money? See, Cody, he’s an idiot. Cody has values and “all that crap.” Cody doesn’t care about the money, so Roman will break it down to simple math. “Cody, I’m not gonna beg you like the other guy. You can either be the very best number two in this industry… Or you can take a crack at number one again. It’s your choice.”

But here comes Cody! The fans fire up for the American Nightmare as he makes his way out here, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro, high-fives the fans, and we hear Cody’s decision, after the break.

SmackDown returns again and Cody gets his second round of pyro before stepping into the ring with Roman and the Bloodline. Heyman is allowed to hand Cody a mic, and the fans fire up. “So, Birmingham, Alabama…! Roman Reigns… What do we want to talk about?” Cody imagined this conversation a little bit more private. But if you’ll indulge him, perhaps they could have the ring to themselves? Roman looks to Heyman and Heyman ushers Jimmy & Solo out. Cody then tells Roman, “I took a great deal of counsel this week. I talked to friends, family, legends.

“Y’know, you cheated me. I had you. More than anybody you’ve been in the ring with, I had you, and I think you know it. Seth Rollins, he’s made a lot of amazing points this week, but one of them that I disagree with, he called that the Hollywood title. You can call it whatever you want, that’s still the title that Bruno Sammartino held. It’s still the title that was put into my father’s hands at Madison Square Garden, and then swiftly taken away. Again, call it whatever you want, I still want that title. Lemme ask you… What is finishing the story? Cuz I’ve heard you say that all of this, ALL of it, is yours.

“This ring, the canvas, the ropes, that camera, the announce desk, all these people. You all belong to Roman Reigns, apparently!” The fans boo that, and Cody continues, “So… Is ‘finishing the story’ taking that championship from you? Or is ‘finishing the story’ taking everything from you? Let me make it abundantly clear: I want that title. Matter of fact, I’m moving my own goal post. I want that title, I want everything, and I am coming for it. I am coming for you, Roman Reigns!” The fans cheer, and then Cody says, “But not at WrestleMania.” Cody mentioned taking counsel. Roman, one of the individuals Cody talked to, he knows Roman very well.

THE ROCK IS HERE!! The fans lose their minds as The People’s Champion steps out on stage, and then he shows the goosebumps on his arms from this electrifying reception. The Rock goes down to the ring, stands on the corner, and the fans cheer even more now. The Rock steps into the ring, stares Cody down, and then shakes his hand. They even hug it out, and it seems The Rock is telling Cody some more wise words. Cody then lets The Rock have the ring so that he can stand across from The Head of the Table. Does this confirm that Cody IS taking Rollins up on his offer to fight for the World Heavyweight Championship?

As for The Rock and Roman, the fans go wild seeing them stare down now! Roman puts the Universal Championship on his shoulder but the fans have Rock’s back. The Rock and Roman step closer, the fans start losing their mind, and they chant, “This is Awesome!” The Rock and Roman step closer again, and again, until they’re face to face. Is it official? Is THIS the main event for WrestleMania in Philadelphia? A press conference is coming in Las Vegas, tune in to find out!

My Thoughts:

What a wild SmackDown to build on the Royal Rumble and even Raw. For one, that ending just now definitely shifted things. They wanted us to think we were getting Roman VS Cody II so Cody could win the rematch, but then they swing a U-turn right back to Roman VS Rock, which they teased the last time Rock was on TV tearing into Jinder Mahal. I suppose as great as it would be for Cody to end up on SmackDown and win the Universal Championship, they couldn’t pass up on Roman VS Rock. At the same time, SmackDown couldn’t reasonably have both Rumble winners and then put it all on Raw to figure out what their champs are doing.

To which, Bayley and DMG CTRL had an awesome moment tonight. Great promo of Iyo, Kairi & Asuka talking and Bayley overhearing it all. Then she confronts them, we get a great brawl, and boom, Bayley VS Iyo is made. This is all as expected, with Becky Lynch wanting her way back to the title over on Raw. Bayley will surely be having matches against Asuka and Kairi on the road to WrestleMania, and as I remember writing before, she might find unlikely allies to help her fight the Kabuki Warriors off. There are any number of tag teams that might team with Bayley if it means a tag title shot for them.

Great opening promo with Logan and Kevin, and a great match of Kevin VS Theory. Logan of course wants to face someone else, anyone else, because Kevin is going to beat him in a rematch. I would think Kevin still gets his rematch for WrestleMania, he and Logan will have a great rematch, but who knows if Kevin wins. At the same time, it’d be pretty funny if the next challenger Aldis lined up for Logan was actually someone Logan wants to face less than Kevin and that leaves Logan with no choice. Imagine if Logan was confronted with like, Omos. Between Kevin and Omos, I feel like Logan would choose Kevin because at least Kevin’s a normal height.

Great Fatal 4 Way Tag, and I am very glad it is Bate & Dunne moving on to the #1 contender’s match. Who knows who comes out of Raw, but I would personally hope Bate & Dunne win again to go on to Elimination Chamber. Bate & Dunne VS Finn & Priest would be awesome stuff, and who knows, maybe HHH has British Strong Style win and bring those tag titles to SmackDown for the next stretch until WrestleMania. And good promos from all the new signees to SmackDown. I’m thinking SmackDown gets all the NXT call-ups, as we saw Bron and Tiffany tonight, and we’ve seen Carmelo Hayes and Dragon Lee on here a few times already. Tiffany VS Mia was really good stuff, and of course Tiffany wins her SmackDown debut.

Good brawl out of Final Testament and still-unnamed faction of Lashley, Profits and now B-Fab. B-Fab joining up was only a matter of time, and her countering Scarlett was a natural move tonight. This surely ends up a No Disqualification/Street Fight Six Man match between now and Elimination Chamber, maybe even something bigger for Mania. And honestly, with how Logan disrespected Bianca during that promo segment, I would love if Montez Ford got his own shot at Logan. Great way to tie in their relationship, their reality show, and maybe even give Ford a singles title win over a “celebrity.”

My Score: 8.8/10