Roman Reigns' fierce rival set to return to WWE SmackDown this week

Roman Reigns won't be the only star making his return to SmackDown this week as WWE recently announced that Cody Rhodes will also be present on the blue brand this Friday.

The two megastars were recently involved in a heated feud that culminated in a match at WrestleMania 39. The American Nightmare was on the cusp of making history, but Solo Sikoa attacked him from behind to once again help the Bloodline leader retain his titles.

While Rhodes and Reigns had a confrontation on RAW after WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar attacked the former to kickstart a rivalry between the two. The Tribal Chief has been missing from TV programming since then and is currently not involved in any feud. However, he has been dealing with dissension in The Bloodline which arose after The Usos lost the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

Reigns was the number one pick during the recently concluded Draft. He will be returning to SmackDown this week to address the issues surrounding The Bloodline. It seems like he will be joined by his former rival on the show as Cody Rhodes is also slated to be present on the blue brand despite being a member of the RAW roster.

---

Cody Rhodes still wants to dethrone Roman Reigns in WWE

Cody Rhodes may have come up short against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, but the former AEW star has not given up hope in usurping the Head of the Table.

While many expect Rhodes to go after the newly-introduced World Heavyweight Championship, the American Nightmare stated in a recent interview with ComicBookNation that his main goal is still the same, which is to win Roman Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

"The goal is the same is the best way to put it. The goal is the same for me as a sports entertainer and as a wrestler. I came here wanting one thing. It doesn't mean other stories won't happen that will also be finished and it doesn't mean there aren't other milestones. (...) But the most important thing to me is still the championship that sits on Roman's shoulders. And it's the biggest match that WWE could do," he said.

With a recent report claiming that WWE is planning a match between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, Friday Night SmackDown could be the perfect place to plant the seeds for the eventual bout.