Check, Mate

I just finished watching WWE Raw and the show wasn’t bad at all. I thought the wrestling was superb from the top of the card to the bottom. Bianca Belair was absolutely, sensational as she always is and shoutout to Rhea Ripley in her big win over Bayley.

Both of those ladies put on an exceptional match but the thing I want to talk about wasn’t even a match but a discussion. A heated discussion between “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns and “The Ameican Nightmare” Cody Rhodes.

This right here was television produced at its finest. There was not one mistake made whatsoever. From Reigns’ entrance to when he stepped in the ring to be “acknowledged” by the St. Louis fans to when he was interrupted by a member of another one of wrestling’s “royal families.”

First off, let me tip my hat off to both participants because on the microphone both men have been nothing short of spectacular. Their promos and back & forth banter will have folks talking about this feud for years to come. Especially after tonight.

The last few times these performers engaged on the mic, it felt as though Reigns looked like he got the better of his challenger, Rhodes, but that wasn’t the case tonight.

Rhodes let it be alone that he’s just not some flash-in-the-pan challenger to be served up like filet mignon to the Tribal Chief and his ever-growing and record-breaking title streak.

It started off with Reigns berating the challenger accusing him of quitting and that anytime things got tough, he would run away. The Chief would go on to say that:

“Otherwise, you’re just gonna do what you always do anddddd…… run like a little bitch.”

Rhodes would actually agree with everything that Reigns said about how he did run away when things got rough. He also wanted to make it clear that he didn’t want any further discussions about his father anymore; A topic that has been discussed quite a few times since the match between these two was announced.

Rhodes would remind Reigns that he won’t be fighting his father but you’re going to be fighting him. He told Reigns that Rhodes’ Cuban mom would tell him to “knock that boy out and while he’s laying there, hit him again for good measure.”

Rhodes asks Reigns to talk about what April 3rd will mean to him and how he’s going to know what it’s like to lose. That he’s going to lose Jey & Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa (all three men are his real-life cousins) and Paul Heyman becomes an advocate yet again. He would go on to say:

“So there you’ll be a man without a family, a Roman with no more Reigns, a Chief without a tribe.”

Reigns facial expressions were impeccable. He told the story right there without even mumbling one word. He would drop his mic and leave the ring with Paul Heyman right behind him but there was one thing missing.

Solo Sikoa, the Bloodline’s enforcer, was still in the ring looking for “that smoke” with Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes asks him if he wants to go and to say when.

Reigns looks perplexed and yells at Solo. Cody grabs the mic and says that Solo just isn’t ready yet which makes him go in to try to attack Cody.

Rhodes hits Sikoa with a kick before he can nail that Samoan Spike. Reigns comes back to ring and grabs Sikoa as he’s coiling up like a rattlesnake getting ready to strike. End show. It was a beautifully, done segment. Kudos to all those men involved with the angle.