The last time Cody Rhodes laid eyes on Roman Reigns, it was at the end of Wrestlemania 40 as The American Nightmare stood over the Tribal Chief’s defeated body to take ownership of the WWE Universal Championship, that was until Summerslam 2024.
After Kevin Owens and Randy Orton showed up to chase off the Tongans from assisting Sikoa, it was Jacob Fatu predictably appearing out of the audience to attack Rhodes before injuring himself — non-kayfabe, as it turned out — and then it happened.
The pop was like a shotgun blast with your ear directly next to the barrel:
Roman Reigns was BACK.
WATCH: MOST UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS FROM SUMMERSLAM
Donning a shirt emblazoned with “OTC” on the front (Only Tribal Chief?), he pump faked a Superman Punch to Rhodes before completing it to the face of Sikoa, then spearing his cousin’s intestines to mush. Reigns would then stare down Rhodes in very “unfinished business and I’ll deal with you later” fashion — Rhodes then finishing off Sikoa to retain the belt.
In the post-Summerslam press conference, Rhodes had a lot to say and that included not only a thank you to Reigns, his most bitter enemy since 2022, but to hint at a possible alliance against the new-look Bloodline, even if only temporarily.
How is the champ feeling about THAT return at #SummerSlam? pic.twitter.com/ijkfvTFUTf
— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2024
“I actually think Bloodline Rules, as a match, is my match. We’ve had two of them, and I’ve won them both. I don’t think it’s supposed to be for me, and I don’t think I have the authority to call for one by any means, but I have won them both. And it’s like I said on SmackDown, it’s a dumb decision.
“It’s not the smartest thing to jump into that, but it’s the only decision I know how to make. It’s the type of person I’ve been groomed to be here at WWE — I can’t say no. And I don’t want to fill the room with positive platitudes and hot air about the real Tribal Chief — Roman Reigns — returning but, without a doubt, that probably would’ve gone a different way, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the north star of the industry, had it not been for Roman Reigns.
“I’ve got quite a list of people I might owe one, and I might owe him more than one. Again, no love lost, that’s as much of a shoot as it gets. It’s a unique relationship, I suppose. We haven’t seen or spoken since Wrestlemania. I think the WWE fans, wrestling fans, WWE Universe wanted him, and Summerslam delivered and gave him, and that I’m always very, very happy about.”
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When and how Rhodes will repay Reigns is what the entire WWE Universe will be glued to their screens to find out between now and Wrestlemania 41, and there’s also the remaining question marks on when Jimmy and Jey Uso will get involved and, when he returns, which side of the War the “Final Boss” will be on.
What happened in the main event at Summerslam 2024 will be the equivalent to a Big Bang Theory in WWE over the next several months and possibly years to come, and it all began with Reigns turning face (or, at minimum, anti-hero) to help Rhodes keep the belt away from Reigns’ most disrespectful family member.
Let the War Games begin.