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Last Saturday at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event, the WWE Universe saw Cody Rhodes and Bayley punch their ticket to WrestleMania 40 as they won the marquee battle royal.
While fans now know that those two stars are going to the Show of Shows, it is still unclear which champion they will choose to face in Philadelphia.
Tonight's episode of SmackDown may hopefully provide some answers to many questions following the Royal Rumble.
Therefore, we will look at three things that could happen on the blue brand in the coming weeks before the Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event, which takes place on Saturday, February 24.
#3 - Damage CTRL take out one of their own
This past weekend saw Bayley achieve a huge career goal as she finally won a Royal Rumble match, all but ensuring that she will now vie for a world title at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Following her win, Bayley spoke to WWE's YouTube Channel, in which she detailed what winning the Royal Rumble match meant for her.
"[I] Did it with my girls; I didn't do it alone. I did it with them, and they helped me get to this next level that I needed to get to. I wasn't even on the freaking Rumble poster, you know. I'm not on the chairs, but I'm a winner, you know. That feels good. I don't know, this is the year that's gonna really showcase everything that I've learned and experienced through all those freaking times here."
This past Monday on RAW saw Bayley, alongside her Damage CTRL stable, seemingly confirmed that she will challenge the Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley at Mania.
However, after Mami was assaulted by Nia Jax, Bayley said that she would reveal her actual decision this Friday on SmackDown, leaving her stablemate and current WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY very confused.
While fans would love to see Bayley vs Rhea, the story of Damage CTRL turning on its founder is mouth-watering for many. Therefore, we could see IYO SKY and the rest of the group turn on Bayley on SmackDown in the coming weeks to set up their championship showdown at WrestleMania 40.
#2 - WWE's Prizefighter wants revenge
One of the two championship matches that took place at the Royal Rumble last Saturday was a contest between Kevin Owens and Logan Paul for the United States Title.
A hard-hitting back-and-forth match saw Owens come within inches of winning the gold before the ref noticed KO had used brass knuckles to knock out Logan, resulting in Paul retaining his belt by disqualification.
Following their match, Logan Paul reacted to his championship match against Kevin Owens while speaking on his IMPAULSIVE podcast.
"He's ruthless man I'll be honest with you," Paul said. "He's good, he's very good. I made fun of him frequently, I called him all sorts of things, the 'Humpty Dumpty of WWE,' Called him a 40-year old schoolboy because he dresses like a teenager. I underestimated him and I'm in a little bit of pain."
Although Logan Paul did pick up the win against the former Universal Champion, their issues seem far from over, considering that Owens lost via the use of brass knuckles that his opponent introduced into the matchup.
With Logan having used underhanded tactics to win many of his recent matches, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis may decide to book a rematch between Owens and Paul at Elimination Chamber in Perth. But this time, the contest will be a no-disqualification match, meaning Logan cannot cheat to retain the United States Championship.
#1 - Cody Rhodes picks The Tribal Chief
After winning the Royal Rumble match last Saturday, Cody Rhodes became the first superstar to win the match back-to-back since Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1998.
Following his huge victory, the wrestling world all gave their thoughts on where this victory now puts Cody, including WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, who shared his opinion on Rhodes while speaking on Busted Open Radio.
"Once you put Cody’s name in that sentence, with those superstars, you now have changed people’s perception. Now he takes another step forward in people’s minds, because they go, ‘Oh. Only Austin, Hulk, and Shawn did it? And now Cody?’ You’re talking about Mount Rushmore guys. You gotta put Cody’s name in that sentence."
This week on RAW, the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins threw a wrench in the works as he asked Cody to challenge him at Mania instead of Roman Reigns, with The Visionary claiming that his title is the true workhorse championship of WWE.
Despite Rollins' best efforts to sway Rhodes, many still believe that Cody will go after Roman Reigns and his Undisputed WWE Universal Title, a championship that The American Nightmare was inches away from winning in the main event of WrestleMania 39 last year.
Despite being a RAW Superstar, Cody is set to appear on SmackDown tonight, and with Roman Reigns confirmed to be on the show as well, the WWE Universe could see the epic rematch finally be confirmed.
