This week’s SmackDown built up anticipation as Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins answered the challenge set by Roman Reigns and The Rock.

The build-up was heavy going into this week’s episode of SmackDown as Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins were set to accept the tag match challenge by The Rock and Roman Reigns. WWE built it up by having Rhodes and Rollins make a grand entrance at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The burning question was what The American Nightmare and The Visionary would say, potentially setting up some physicality when everyone came face to face. The show also featured a heated clash between Bobby Lashley and Karrion Kross, a tag match as Kevin Owens and Randy Orton faced Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, Dragon Lee versus Angel Garza, Michin vs. Tiffany Stratton and an appearance by Logan Paul.

United States Champion Logan Paul made a groundbreaking announcement at the show’s start, revealing that his Prime Hydration would be the primary ring sponsor for all WWE Premium Live Events, starting with WrestleMania—a historic first for the company. Joined by business partner KSI, their celebratory moment was abruptly interrupted by Randy Orton. Despite Paul evading an RKO, KSI fell victim to Orton’s finisher, leaving The Viper standing tall and pouring some Prime on a called KSI.

While not officially announced, this segment sets up Orton vs. Paul for WrestleMania. It is a bit interesting that Orton wasn’t more upset about getting hit with the brass knuckles at Elimination Chamber. He seemed to have more fun with Paul than he was out for revenge. The timing in that respect was a bit off. Even if Orton had a bit more of an evil Legend Killer-type vibe to him, that would have worked better than just toying with Paul.

Following Randy Orton taking out KSI, The Viper joined forces with Kevin Owens against Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in tag team action. The match’s outcome was fairly predictable, but it was still entertaining. Owens executed a decisive pop-up RKO on Theory for the victory. Post-match, Logan Paul attacked both competitors, teasing the use of brass knuckles. Orton intervened and grabbed the brass knuckles from Paul, almost hitting K.O. when he missed his intended target. It’s an intriguing twist on what seemed like an obvious match between Paul and Orton. Owens didn’t love that he almost got knocked silly, but he seemed fine for now. Could that change?

The ongoing feud between Final Testament and Bobby Lashley’s crew took another step on Friday as Lashley faced Karrion Kross in a physical, hard-hitting singles match. This match ended in a disqualification, but it was arguably one of Kross’ best matches in WWE. He got pushed as a serious threat to Lashley, who not that long ago was one of WWE’s most dominant stars. Ultimately, The Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, had to intervene and cause a disqualification to help Kross out. While The Street Profits attempted to even the odds, The Final Testament’s overpowering presence prevailed, allowing the heels to stare down the fallen Lashley in the ring to end the segment.

This wasn’t a long match and it was meant to showcase Stratton. Backstage, Michin told WWE cameras in an exclusive that something had to change. She doesn’t even know why she’s here or what she’s doing wrong, but it can’t continue. One has to wonder if a heel change is coming. With AJ Styles on his own and The Good Brothers in NXT, fans may see a different side of Michin soon.

With no LWO on site, Dragon Lee didn’t stand a chance against Legado del Fantasma on Friday. Officially, the match was Angel Garza vs. Dragon Lee, and after Lee secured the surprise roll-up pin, he was immediately jumped. The group unleashed a brutal assault on Lee, sending a message to the absent Rey Mysterio. The end goal here is Mysterio and Santos Escobar in Philadelphia. It’s unclear why Lee would be foolish enough to try and take on everyone in Santos’ crew without backup, but that’s neither here, nor there. This segment worked to establish what will be a very vengeful Mysterio returning next week.

Rhodes and Rollins closed the show in the ring with The Rock and Roman Reigns. Rhodes got a measure of revenge, slapping The Rock in the same way The Rock slapped Cody at the WrestleMania Kickoff press conference. To get there, The Rock rehashed the stipulations of the tag match, to which Rollins told The Rock to shut up and then accepted the challenge. The Rock took a shot at Cody’s family and Cody slapped him.

All that said, there was an underlying sense of tension between The Rock and Reigns throughout. They got along fine and there wasn’t friction between the two, but every little nuance and subtle poke teases that something might be amiss. The Rock acknowledged Reigns as The Tribal Chief a week ago, but his facial expressions and the way he often speaks in generalities hitns that the door is open for a swerve. Even the stipulations of the match make it possible for something major to go down.

It works because every fan will question the outcome of the two matches. It seems logical to invoke Bloodline Rules, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it only benefits Roman Reigns