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A major name will be appearing on tonight's edition of WWE SmackDown in Michigan. Tonight will be the first episode of the blue brand following WrestleMania XL this past weekend.
Roman Reigns' historic run as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion finally came to an end at the hands of Cody Rhodes in the main event of Night 2 at WrestleMania. The match featured cameos from legends such as John Cena, The Rock, and The Undertaker. In the end, The American Nightmare was able to put The Tribal Chief away with three Cross Rhodes.
The promotion has announced that Cody Rhodes will be appearing on this week's episode of SmackDown. It will be his first appearance as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion on Friday night. He was confronted by The Rock this past Monday night on RAW and The Final Boss warned that he would be coming after Rhodes down the line. Bayley is also scheduled to make her first appearance as WWE Women's Champion tonight as well.
Former WWE manager says he is interested in Cody Rhodes' storyline
Wrestling legend Dutch Mantell recently stated that he has warmed up to the Cody Rhodes storyline after the former AEW star became champion at WrestleMania XL.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show, Dutch Mantell revealed that he is now more interested in Rhodes' storyline than he ever was. He noted that the promotion has rejuvenated the sport of professional wrestling and has made it must-watch television once again:
"Well, I am interested in the story now more than I was. Because I think they have rejuvenated the sport of wrestling, pro-wrestling to such a degree that now it is must-watch TV. Because they can do one little tweak, and it makes their TV. And there is no other TV, I mean, WWE hasn't had that in so many years, but now they do. And they've got so much talent that they have emphasis on that they can draw from," he said. [From 04:58 onwards]
You can check out Dutch Mantell's comments in the video below:
Cody Rhodes returned to the company at WrestleMania 38 and has spent the past two years trying to finish his story. It will be fascinating to see what the promotion has in store for the champion moving forward after he conquered The Tribal Chief.
