He hears voices in his head, they council him, they understand, they talk to him.
Randy Orton made his return to the blue brand on Friday Night SmackDown this week and he opened up the show talking about the fact that he needed to come back so he could get an explanation from WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, his dear friend, on why exactly he decided to team up with Roman Reigns. After everything, he’s a bit baffled by it.
So, hey friend, come on down because that’s what he wants to talk about.
See what I did there?
I’m so sorry.
Anyway, Rhodes, who just can’t help himself, came out and worked the gimmick anyway, even though Orton quite literally told him exactly what he wanted to talk about. The cries for a heel turn haven’t started yet but I won’t be surprised when they do.
Cody said he plans to take Reigns at his word because he’s kept it so far and there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue to do so. He was honest about where his head is and what he plans to do right after they take care of Bad Blood business. So, hey, he made a business decision.
He even said Orton, the Legend Killer himself, should understand that this new Bloodline’s legend has grown enough that it needs to be killed. And hopefully ol’ Randall wouldn’t have a problem with that.
“No problem at all, Cody … unless, of course, you make it a problem.”
Cue Kevin Owens.
Before he could even speak, the “rogue outlaw Bloodline” showed up. Solo Sikoa told Rhodes to trust Reigns because, well, he’s going to need him. And that’s because the two men in the ring with him aren’t going to be any good for him at all.
How long has he been trying to take out The Bloodline? Orton and Owens have failed him every time. That’s really why he’s turning to Reigns, and that’s what he needs to acknowledge.
When Owens finally did speak, he demanded a tag team match between Sikoa & Jacob Fatu and Orton & Owens. Cody insisted on a six-man but KO said he doesn’t want that, let the champ focus on teaming with Reigns. R-KO will take care of this tonight on their own.
Intrigue all around!
Later in the evening, Rhodes tried to talk to Owens in the back, saying they need to talk out the issues between them. KO got good and pissed and told him they can have a talk later because he’s busy getting ready for The Bloodline tonight. He took off after saying Cody needs to keep himself backstage.
Interestingly enough, Orton immediately disagreed with that and encouraged Cody to come on down if they found themselves in a 4-v-2 situation and needed the assistance. He promised to talk to Owens, but this was clearly setting up a misunderstanding.
Right?
When it came time, there was indeed a 4-v-2 situation and Rhodes did indeed rush out to help as best he could. Except he ended up inadvertently costing his friends the match, as he was thrown into the official, knocking him down when Owens had the match won. Ultimately, Sikoa pinned Owens shortly after thanks to the distraction.
Naturally, KO pushed Cody in the aftermath and Orton had to play peacemaker between the two, making clear he was the one who asked for Rhodes to come down to help. It did seem they were playing nice by the time they went off the air.
But it’s also clear we’ve got big trouble in little China.
And you know what old Jack Burton used to say.
All the rest
- Women’s Champion Nia Jax yelled at Tiffany Stratton about just why they didn’t take out Bayley & Naomi last week and now she’ll have to face one of them at Bad Blood. She went so far as to grab Stratton by the throat and make it clear to her that if this ends badly for Jax, it will end even worse for Tiffy Time. Bayley and Naomi had their match, there was zero interference from either of the heels, and Bayley came out on top. She’ll advance to Bad Blood. Later on, they met up backstage and decided they were still friends and would square up again later if Bayley wins the title from Jax.
- Oh hey, Carmelo Hayes and Andrade had yet another insane match, tearing the house down for what feels like the 50th time. The way they got to the finish here was LA Knight interfered after Hayes laid him out backstage while he was chatting with Andrade. It led to his showing up late, trying to get after Hayes, and ultimately Carmelo rolling up Andrade to even the series at 3-3. Andrade was none too happy with Knight, and stormed off on him. This has all been fantastic, and Knight being involved makes it feel like there are higher stakes at all time. I hope this never ends.
- Michin defeated Piper Niven in a fun match, one that featured Chelsea Green interfering on Niven’s behalf and still getting taken out and left on the losing end. This was a preview for the Dumpster match next week, and I, for one, am greatly looking forward to it.
These shows are really tight, and they never throw too much at you on SmackDown. I don’t think I want three hours, it’s too nice getting a tight two out of them every week.
Grade: B+
Your turn!