‘The Rock’ Acknowledges Roman Reigns As His Tribal Chief

A sold-out crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, was the venue for tonight’s Friday Night SmackDown on the first day of March. The highly anticipated show was set to feature ‘The Rock’ and Roman Reigns after Paul Heyman teased the pair at the conclusion of Monday Night RAW.

RAW went off the air with Heyman calling The Rock on one phone and Roman Reigns on the other to inform them of Cody Rhodes’ refusal to rescind his challenge to The Rock. Social media has been speculating on what response we could expect from The Bloodline and Rock all week. In typical heel fashion, The Rock refused Cody’s offer for a match, but not before letting the Arizona crowd know they were number one—it’s too bad the ranking was for meth and cocaine usage.

That ‘fact’ was not true on any statistics I could find, but it was hilariously heel of The Rock, who really seems to be finding his groove.

While the main plot point of The Rock’s promo was a counteroffer for Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes to face him and Roman at WrestleMania Night one, it was the subtleties in the segment that scored big. First, The Rock was working the crowd like a fearless comedian on stage, blurring the lines between this era and his own when he referred to the women in the crowd wanting his ’22 inches of heaven,’ which is his biceps.

Sometimes, a promo can speak volumes, but other times, what’s left unsaid can hint at the story to come. The statement Roman Reigns made by standing silent and stoic while The Rock was on the mic was as loud as the crowd’s discontent for “The People’s Champ.” The Rock stipulated that if he and Roman beat Cody and Seth, then Cody’s match with Roman on Night Two would be Bloodline Rules, alluding to the idea that they will interfere in the match (legally) any chance they get.

However, The Rock also specified that if Cody and Seth can defeat The Rock and Roman, his world title match with Roman will be bloodline-free, with legal documents that bar Roman’s family from ringside. Earlier in the promo, The Rock announced that he plans to sell out Dallas next Friday and Memphis the week after. So, to achieve that, The Rock demanded an answer from Cody next week in Dallas.

The most interesting moment came at the end of The Rock-filled promo as he geared up to hit the crowd with his famous catchphrase: “If you smell what The Rock is cookin.’” But just as he was getting into it, Roman halted The Rock’s slogan in the tensest moment between the two since The Rock first entered the fold.

Roman then demanded that The Rock ‘acknowledge him’ in the middle of the ring in front of the entire WWE Universe©. After a brief stare-down that lasted forever, The Rock fell in line and publicly acknowledged Roman’s place at ‘the head of the table.’

“Roman Reigns, my family, I acknowledge you as my tribal chief,” The Rock said before chants of “you sold out” filled the arena. The Rock spoke to the crowd in reaction to the boos by reminding them that the men in the ring are his family, and then he told them to ‘go home and smoke some more crack.’

Tiffany Stratton VS Naomi

Stratton has been on a roll lately, and tonight’s match was her first following a stellar performance at Elimination Chamber. This was a competitive matchup where both women had their moments.

Naomi could not sustain momentum, and Stratton was able to pick up the victory over a significant name on the roster and a former women’s world champ. This keeps her on the upward trend she’s currently experiencing.

The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) vs Bayley and Dakota Kai

It was a non-title match for the current women’s tag team champs as the faction formerly known as Damage CTRL continued its civil war on Friday Night SmackDown. For weeks, Dakota Kai has been on a mission to convince Bayley that she is her friend and has her back against the other three Damage CTRL defectors.

The Bayley and Kai match with the Kabuki Warriors was booked last week, and the numbers were already not on Bailey’s side when Kai turned on the former leader in what became a beatdown.

Carlito VS Santos Escobar (Street Fight)

The fists were flying early in a match with a special connection for Carlito, the son of Carlos Colon, who immortalized ‘hardcore’ in Puerto Rico, and the special stipulation was called for with how personal things have gotten between the two Latin fighters.

Santos put Rey Mysterio out of commission a few weeks ago, and Carlito was looking to exact revenge in the worst way. The method included trash cans and steel chairs, and of course, steel chair shots onto metal trashcans placed over Escobar. Angel Garza and Humberto Carrilo eventually interfered in a perfectly legal move. That brought out Del Torro and Cruz to even the odds.

After what looked like a schmozz finish, it turned into the triumphant return of Rey Mysterio, complete with a grey goatee. The match ended with LWO standing tall and united in the middle of the ring.

Main Event: Randy Orton VS Austin Theory

Theory and Grayson Waller continued the ‘breakup’ storyline they seemed to be heading towards, but that did not get in the way of a really great performance from Theory.

Theory has been pushed heavily during his time on the main roster, especially in the Vince era, but he is doing his best work without that pressure. Not to take away the victory from Randy Orton, who landed the RKO for the win after escaping two near-falls earlier in the match, but he is expected to be great night after night.

Yet, it has been hit or miss with Theory, but he was able to work in some great offense, and Randy was generous with the young superstar. After the win, Waller came in to attack Randy, but Kevin Owens, who was doing guest commentary, sprung to Orton’s aid. The faces stood tall to close out the show, and Randy gave Owens the fist bump.

Neither have any committed plans for WrestleMania, but a team-up between the two could benefit both superstars and entertain fans. Before Randy’s injury, he was one of the hottest acts in WWE as a tag team with Matt Riddle.

Mario Mungia

See author's posts