WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: The Rock confronts Roman Reigns, sets stage for WrestleMania XL

Cody Rhodes and Bayley both made their decisions for who they’ll challenge at WrestleMania XL during this week’s WWE SmackDown. Bayley finally revealed she knew about Damage CTRL’s bullying and will now face Iyo Sky for the WWE women’s championship, ending her time with the Damage CTRL faction she personally created.

Meanwhile, Rhodes made the shocking call to not have a rematch with Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE universal championship. Instead, he’s going to let someone else take a crack at “The Head of the Table” — The Rock. The show went off the air with “The People’s Champ” finally sharing the ring with his cousin, setting the stage for one of the biggest WrestleMania matches of all time.

CBS Sports was you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from the Legacy Arena at The BJCC in Birmingham. 

Cody Rhodes steps aside for The Rock to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL

Rhodes threw a curveball at the end of this week’s SmackDown. While all signs pointed to him challenging Reigns for the undisputed WWE universal championship in the closing moments of Sunday’s Royal Rumble, he seemingly stepped aside for something bigger. 

The show’s final segment opened with Roman Reigns cutting a promo on what Seth Rollins claimed earlier in the week. He tore into “The Visionary,” saying the idea that he’s “the guy” in WWE is still nonsense and that the world heavyweight championship might as well be the “Losers Bracket Title” given how Rollins and many of his challengers already failed to dethrone “The Tribal Chief.”

Rhodes then arrived, saying he’s been seeking counsel from friends, family and wrestling legends all week. He pointed out how Reigns cheated him out of their WrestleMania 39 match and reiterated that for him to truly “finish the story,” he’d need to win the title the WWE never let his father win. And regardless of its name or presentation, that lineage still belongs to Reigns’ undisputed championship. Rhodes said he still wants to take everything from Reigns, but then noted it wouldn’t happen at WrestleMania. 

Rhodes said he sought counsel from someone very familiar with Reigns. The Rock then arrived to thunderous applause. Rhodes embraced “The People’s Champ,” then bowed out and left the ring, signifying that he wouldn’t be the one to challenge Reigns. The show went off the air with Reigns and Rock in a face-off, though neither said a word. 

The leaps in logic to not have Reigns vs. Rhodes II are vast, and the world heavyweight championship is now damaged goods thanks to Reigns and Rollins’ promos. But Reigns vs. Rock is the biggest match WWE can possibly book right now and the deafening reaction from the crowd makes one hell of an argument. Let’s see what they can do. Grade: A-

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?