It’s a Texas-sized SmackDown in a Nutshell, and this week Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins make it official for WrestleMania.
And to be clear, the “it” in this statement is the WrestleMania 40 night one “co-main event”.
That being an epic tag title match pitting Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins against Roman Reigns and The Rock.
Big stakes for that one too. Faces win, Cody might have a fair fight Sunday.
Lose, and it’s Bloodline rules.
Of course, as the action gets closer and closer to Philadelphia, there actually are other matches.
Some are known. Others are not.
Read More: 10 Worst WrestleMania Matches, including Michael Cole versus Jerry Lawler
Perhaps we find out what Logan Paul will have for a United States Championship title defense tonight?
That and more are on the table, so let’s get things going…
SmackDown In A Nutshell: Cody Rhodes And Seth Rollins Make It Official
Let’s crack this one open and find out!
Best Match of the night:
Can’t go with a match, have to go with the main event promo.
Just a lot going on, a lot to like.
From Rhodes and Rollins somehow sneaking past security, to them doing an old Shield style entrance…then the verbal sparring…it was a mostly good evening.
And though it took a month too long…Cody Rhodes finally slapped The Rock back.
Worst match of the night:
Nothing. I don’t remember any being bad.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
What
Diarrhea
Star of the Night
Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. They shined brighter than Rock or Roman, with Rock doing most of the heavy lifting for the heels.
Spot of the Night:
It wasn’t as clean as say, a 1D…but the pop up RKO was nice.
But not near as sweet as Cody finally slapping The Rock back. A nicer, harder slap would have been even more awesome…but it’s a start.
Jobber of the Night:
Dragon Lee took a beating after he won.
Upset of the Night:
Cody was surely upset with how some of those comments got dropped on him, because well…that feud is getting rather personal.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
That closing segment was as good as you’d expect it to be, and then some.
Honestly, I feel like it made Rollins look superb, Cody not so much.
Hard to rank, but I can try.
Cody took the first shot, but Rock fired back and was the one saying most of the stuff.
While Rhodes had a zinger or two, Rock was not thrown off. Rollins, however, obliterated Rock.
I mean…”Mr. Mid-Life Crisis”? That was better than Diarrhea Dwayne.
Thus far, like going back to that press conference, Seth had been a bit in the back. Not anymore.
Cody did what he wanted relative to trying to create tension between the heels (about Rock acknowledging Roman, does that negate Rock’s power).
We did also get a full on flex of power from Rock, declaring he was their boss.
And the biggest curve, if we believe it…this will be Cody’s last chance.
But the most important thing? Cody finally slapped The Rock back.
Botch of the night:
Believe it or not…The Rock had one.
In discussing Cody’s siblings, knowing he couldn’t get too into Dustin…he called him a Hall of Famer.
Except, Goldust/Dustin Rhodes isn’t in it…yet. He did retract and say future Hall of Famer…but…oops.
And unless something has been mis-reported about things, Dustin remains AEW for a bit.
Commentary of the night:
Nothing in particular.
LOL Moment of the night:
Probably the faces Roman Reigns made at needing and being followed by the fake security guards.
Noteworthy Moment:
According to Logan Paul, his Prime drink has become the first in-ring sponsor, beginning with WrestleMania and “for every PLE from that point forward.
If so, it aligns with what we’d heard from Nick Khan and company in recent months-looking to explore and exploit any sponsorship opportunity.
And, it also mirrors what sister company UFC does…because the Octagon is covered with ads.
Interesting interview with Bayley. Even more interesting reaction to her interview by Bianca Belair.
Like, it kind of feels like how Cody wanted to give Jey another chance, but other Superstars remembered Jey beating them down not that long ago.
New entrance for The Rock…
Overall lowlights:
Ignoring the idea of sponsorships in sports for a second, having a WWE Superstar’s company have such a prominent spot is questionable at best.
What next, the Up Up Down Down entrance ramp? (OK, that might not be bad).
But relative to Prime, I believe it’s had enough controversy, and it’s far from healthy for kids to be drinking.
If WWE wanted an in-ring sponsor…for a product that until recently had been more family friendly…I feel like they had other options.
Of course, if it was all just Logan Paul hot air? Then I would retract my statements.
One major point about the main event promo that I don’t like, didn’t like and am surprised they allowed (unless he went rogue)? Roman Reigns calling Seth Rollins a cross dresser.
Look, I don’t really care how you identify, or how you feel about those that do identify. This is my space, and it’s an open and accepting one.
Heat or not, zero reason to go there, in my opinion. Call him goofy or weird or pick on him for who dressed him.
Plenty of creative shots to take and still get heat. It was a lazy shot, and disappointing.
Overall highlights:
I mean, the whole show had me enjoying things…but once that main event segment hit, nothing else mattered.
My head is still thinking about the showdown between Rock, Roman, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, for all intents and purposes the other 90 minutes is but a distant memory.
I did try to think if the reactions to this were as good or better than with last year’s night 1 main event build. May be giving a nod to last year, but it’s close.
After the final bell:
How WWE tops this one I just don’t know.
But I do know that we will see The Rock again next week, so stay tuned.
Either way, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins made it official.
