Rikishi Doesn’t See Cody Rhodes Finishing The Story At WWE WrestleMania 40, Says It Will Be A Win-Win
Rikishi believes there’s more meat left on the bone when it comes to the Bloodline storyline.
The Bloodline storyline has been featured on WWE programming for the past few years, and it has continued to evolve. In recent months, it has taken a new direction, as The Rock has returned and aligned with Roman Reigns. Reigns and The Rock will face Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on the first night of WrestleMania 40 before Rhodes challenges Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on WrestleMania Sunday.
Speaking on Rikishi Fatu Off The Top, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi shared his thoughts on the upcoming tag team bout and Rhodes’ rematch with Reigns.
“I don’t see the story being finished. I’ll tell you why. When I spit, this is nothing that’s been thought about. This just comes off as we do our show every Tuesday. This comes just fresh off the dome. Nothing scripted, nothing talked about. I don’t find out anything until you bring it to me. Again, I’m gonna talk to the people from an entertainment standpoint and from a business factor. Entertainment, yeah, we all want to see the good guy finish the story. But there always has to be the guys to put asses in seats, to be able to mix it up with people that are babyfaces, that are the fans’ favorite for the time being. Where do we go if we finish the story with Cody and Roman? Okay, fans [are] happy. Everybody’s happy. But where do we go after that? Whereas if in case we do go into the second night with The Bloodline story, there’s so many ways you can go, coming off of that angle. So many other branches you can take. It can be down the line. Rock/Rock for whatever match. Roman/Seth for whatever match. Come back into a cage match. There’s probably a whole year, this one angle can go on and on. Which generates revenue for TKO. Generates revenue for WWE. Here’s the beautiful thing. It continues to lock in the fans on the product that’s been out here now for a year, not even a year yet with TKO. So we gotta see numbers, man. We gotta see asses in seats. We gotta see every place that this company goes to, with these four guys, needs to be selling out. I can see, this type of angle doesn’t need to be featured in any arenas, coliseums. It needs to be featured on all these big stadiums across the world. So that’s what my thought is,” Rikishi said.
Rikishi continued by noting that, on a personal level, he wanted to see Rhodes finish the story, and he highlighted his legacy. However, Rikishi reiterated that having The Rock back in WWE was a rare opportunity, and there was no way to know how long it would last.
“Do I want to see Cody finish the [story]? Hell yeah. On a personal level, yes. Yes. Deserves to. The legacy and his family dynasty, yes, it’s a must. But at the same time, timing is everything, man. How many times you gonna get The Rock and Roman Reigns? You tell me, the GOATs of all GOATs? If anybody in this industry tells me that they would never want to work with The Rock or Roman, you’re full of shit because all these guys gonna do, number one is help put respect to your name, and number two, it’s gonna put some money in your pocket. Probably the biggest money you ever had in your pocket,” Rikishi said.
Rikishi was then asked whether WrestleMania 40 will be the biggest night his family has had so far. He noted that it would be, given the magnitude of the fortieth anniversary and the combination of WrestleMania 40. He stated that he believed that WrestleMania 40 would be a win-win situation, even if Cody did not finish the story.
“Back to back, yes. Because it’s fortieth anniversary. But now this is getting to be like, this is who we are, The Bloodline. This ain’t nothing new to us. Los Angeles, back to back, the Samoan Dynasty, the Usos and Roman Reigns. That was one, so that was historic. Now, 40, the big 40, and here we are again. Bloodline l at it again. At the end of the day, it’s this, man. Let the wheel turn. Let’s get all we can get out of this angle. Especially when you got the GOAT, the People’s Champ. Shit. How do we know how long he’s gonna be able to hang in there? He’s in good shape. Roman’s in good shape. Cody’s in good shape. Seth Rollins got a little banged up, but he’s smart enough to work around things. So yeah, I think it’s a win-win situation for everybody, even if Cody does not close the story on WrestleMania,” Rikishi said.
Rikishi recently discussed the upcoming match between Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso at WrestleMania 40. Check out his comments here.
In a recent interview, Rikishi teased returning to WWE. Click here to see what he had to say.
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