As promised, this week's episode of SmackDown delivered the first face-to-face meeting between Roman Reigns and the man who will challenge him for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes.
The Tribal Chief made his way out to the ring with the rest of the Bloodline (minus Jey Uso) to open the show, and the American Nightmare wasted very little time in joining him. After chiding Reigns about needing so much backup, the Head of the Table dismissed his allies and addressed his challenger one-on-one.
Cody pointed out that he's always "moved the goalposts" and overcome the odds when nobody expected him to, and Roman countered by bringing up the late Dusty Rhodes - but not in the way you might expect.
The American Dream was instrumental in giving Reigns his big break back in NXT, which he acknowledged. The Tribal Chief did get one little dig in about Dusty never mentioning his youngest son, but overall, this was a very civil confrontation, and the segment even concluded with a handshake.
Will things remain respectful between these men right up to their 'Mania match? Doubtful!