As confirmed by Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns will be on next week's RAW to address Cody Rhodes' comments, and the WrestleMania rivals are expected to have a heated face-off. During the latest Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell revealed that while he was excited about the segment, Rhodes and Reigns must not come to blows.
WWE is slowly setting the stage for WrestleMania's main event. Cody Rhodes has appeared on nearly every main roster show in the build-up, including the latest SmackDown episode. However, the RAW star is visibly being pushed harder on the red brand, and that's where he will have a much-needed face-to-face showdown with the Tribal Chief.
Dutch Mantell felt that having Reigns and Rhodes in the same ring before WrestleMania was the right move from WWE. The veteran manager, though, noted that booking the two superstars to get physical would be a mistake and could negatively affect the world championship storyline.
Here's what the former WWE manager explained on SK Wrestling's YouTube channel:
"I said come face to face, not to blows because you don't need that. They are going to come to blows at the pay-per-view. So, don't give it away too early. They are talking the game, and everybody can understand that. They are trying to get a psychological edge. If they came to blows, I think that would kind of ruin it." [1:04:40 - 1:05:50]
Dutch Mantell is looking forward to Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns' RAW segment
While The American Nightmare appeared on the most recent SmackDown episode, the show primarily focussed on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's reunion. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns' feud is expected to gather momentum on RAW, and Dutch Mantell fully anticipates the duo cutting strong promos.
Mantell said that considering their history in WWE, Cody and Roman had a lot of material to work with and could deliver one of the most important segments in their ongoing rivalry. Dutch was pretty hyped about the face-off, as you can view below from his preview of the segment:
"That could be one hell of a banger of an interview, whether they touch each other or not, because Cody is good on that horn, and Roman's good on that horn too. And they can touch on different things that have happened in the past that all the fans are aware of and try to get under each other's skin, but that would be an interesting segment." [1:05:51 - 1:06:34]
Well done, @CodyRhodes! 🫡#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/FwT4RnpTAY
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) March 18, 2023
Have you enjoyed the Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes feud thus far on the road to WrestleMania?