THE ROCK RETURNS?! The Return of a classic PLE, Bad Blood RecaP
Wrestlers Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Jimmy Uso, and a returning Dwayne "The Rock' Johnson at Bad Blood, via WWE.com
What an ending…
The night began with the last chapter of a feud that began at the Royal Rumble. The story of CM Punk and Drew McIntyre will come to an end. After months of terrorizing each other’s lives, Punk will win this rivalry, but not in an ideal way. Both men were in a bloody pulp at the end of the match, as it was a gruesome Hell in the Cell match—the best way to have two of the best squash it out is to put em’ in a cage. McIntyre was legitimately cut open and needed 16 stitches after the match at the top of his head in the hair area. The only way to end this feud was to have Punk win; he was due.
Next was Nia Jax, who defended her Women’s Championship against former champ Bayley. She successfully retained in a match that felt like a build-up to create more tension between the champ and the Women’s Money In The Bank winner, Tiffany Stratton. All eyes are on that situation as Tiffany continues to befriend Nia; only time will tell how long that lasts.
In the ultimate grudge match, Damian Priest gets revenge on his betraying former best friend, Finn Balor. In the first match in their rivalry, Priest wins in classic good-guy fashion.
Triple H came out to announce that at Crown Jewel in November in Saudi Arabia, both Raw and Smackdown’s men’s and women’s champions will face off one-on-one, and the winner will receive a special championship. For example, World Champion Gunther would face WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes, and Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan would face Women’s WWE Champion Nia Jax. It was a bit of a gimmicky stipulation, but it led to a Gunther and Goldberg interaction as the WWE Hall of Famer was in the house, and Sami Zayn came out to attack Gunther to build and promote their Monday Night Raw championship main event match. I hope Goldberg stays retired.
The women’s World Championship is on the line in a great feud, with Liv Morgan defending her title against Rhea Ripley. While Dominik Mysterio hangs from a shark cage, that is a great stipulation. The match would finish in a disqualification. Rhea got distracted as she went to attack Dominik when he fell out of the cage, and while he took her eyes off the prize, she was attacked. Raquel Rodriguez would make her return and defend Liv Morgan. There is no real end to the match, but it continues the story. Rhea continues her quest to gain back the championship she never lost.
The Main Event: The WWE Undisputed Champion, The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, would team up with the ONLY Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, in a tag team match against the “Bloodline” Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. It was a great match with weeks of build-up, including a media run from Cody Rhodes when he appeared on the Pat McAfee show and teased a certain ending, including a certain superstar. The Rock posted a day prior that he’d be in Georgia to support a high school football team, and fans awaited his return. The match ended in a clean finish. Cody put his body on the line and put the Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu, through a table, which would leave Roman and Solo in the ring. The Tongans would come out to help Solo until a returning JIMMY USO would defend his cousin and tribal chief, Roman Reigns, and keep it fair. Roman would spear Solo for the win.
Cody and Roman would have a post-match face-off, which built up anticipation. Roman exited the ring with Jimmy, and every fan sighed as it seemed like the event would end. Until the “Bloodline” attacks Cody. Jimmy asks his cousin, Roman if they should help Cody. Roman hesitated but agreed, and they wiped out the “Bloodline.” Roman would find himself in possession of Cody’s WWE Championship and hand it to him as a sign of respect. Cody, Roman, and Jimmy all stood in the ring as Cody raised his championship and the music hit. “IF YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING” The Final Boss, The Rock, would make his return to the WWE for the first time since the Raw after WrestleMania 40. Goosebumps, heart pumping, adrenaline jumping. The Rock was back. He simply stood there, took in the ovation, stared in disgust at what he’d just seen, lifted his eyebrow, and walked out. He went on Instagram Live afterward and cut a short promo about how there is nothing like being in front of a WWE crowd. Many words were said by the look he gave through his sunglasses. He did not like to see what he saw in the ring between the two former rivals, Cody and his cousin Roman. Later on in the night, fans would witness Cody get attacked by Kevin Owens in the parking lot after the show ended. Leading to speculation of a rivalry beginning there.
Good show in the middle of a packed Saturday night with baseball and UFC 307. However, a good show, and with the Rock returning, what does this mean for Roman Reigns and the new “Bloodline”? Who does the Rock align himself with? Is he after Cody Rhodes like he said he’d be in his last appearance? Does he face Roman at WrestleMania 41? Triple Threat between Rock, Cody and Roman at WM 41? Is he the one behind the new “Bloodline”? Did he return alone?
So many unanswered questions… great return from the great one.
