Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns met face-to-face on Friday Night SmackDown and took a deep dive into their shared past with Dusty Rhodes.
Roman Reigns brought up Cody’s father Dusty Rhodes, telling Rhodes that Dusty never mentioned him and even offered to teach him. The crowd chanted Cody as they faced off in the ring, and Reigns looked unimpressed.
Rhodes said “Contrary to what Mr. Heyman might have told you, I am not here to engage in reckless negotiations. I’m here to have a conversation with my WrestleMania opponent one on one, man-to-man, so I don’t see any reason for your compatriots here unless you feel that you need them here?”
“Wiseman, leave us,” Reigns says, telling Paul Heyman and Solo to head out. Everyone leaves but Roman, who cracks, “Does that make you more comfortable?” Reigns then set the WWE Championship and Universal Championship titles down and said, “so what do you want to talk about?”
Rhodes congratulates Reigns on his historic reign, but while lots of people think he’s an unclimbable mountain, that’s kind of Cody’s thing, mentioning several times he’s already pulled off the impossible.
Reigns laughs and asks rhetorically if Cody has ever competed for a WWE world championship or been in a WrestleMania main event. Roman says he was groomed for stardom since he was little boy, not just by his own father but by Cody’s father too.
He continues by saying that he spent a lot of time with Dusty Rhodes, talking about everything. What did he always say about Cody, though? Nothing.
“If there’s anything that he didn’t teach you, I will.” Reigns says before offering his hand. May the better man win, Rhodes says, shaking hands with Reigns before he walks out, though he smiles a bit as he turns around going back up the ramp.
Cody Rhodes will now get the opportunity to realize his dream when he challenges Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns when WrestleMania goes Hollywood on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, at 8 ET/5 PT.