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The Rock was showered with loud applause at Memphis, Tennessee, during the opening segment of WWE SmackDown last Friday night. He responded with a Rock concert, taking digs at Cody Rhodes, the latter's mother, and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
The promo concluded when The People's Champion broke the fourth wall and explicitly told The American Nightmare's mother, Michelle Rubio, what he has in store for her son on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
While the segment was a highly entertaining affair, some people apparently were not too pleased with the legendary wrestler taking the spotlight from younger talents. Several sources claimed it even overran, leading to other matches and segments being trimmed. However, Brian Gewirtz - The Rock's personal writer in WWE - shut down those rumors on Twitter/X:
"The segment went 30 seconds under its allotted 20 minutes."
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair called The Rock the most entertaining performer of all time after SmackDown. While some feel the segment may not have advanced anything in terms of storyline, the vast majority of fans seemingly enjoyed it.
Moreover, wrestling veteran Vince Russo claimed that Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are "a*se clowns" who should not stand in the same ring as The Great One following the latter's concert.
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns will meet face-to-face on WWE SmackDown
The Bloodline's Rock and Roman Reigns will wrestle Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night One at The Show of Shows. The last few weeks were mainly used to build up the tag team main event. It appears the next episode will focus on Night Two's headliner.
Roman Reigns was absent from last Friday's show, but The Tribal Chief was announced for the next as The American Nightmare also makes a rare appearance.
The stipulation for Night One's main event is that if The Bloodline wins, then Night Two's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match will be contested under Bloodline rules.
If they lose, though, then Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes will be devoid of any interferences from the Anoa'i family, something that fans have grown accustomed to over the course of The Tribal Chief's title reign thus far.
