WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have tense encounter before Bad Blood

Rhodes and Reigns had an uneasy meeting ahead of their tag team match against The Bloodline

Roman Reigns gave Cody Rhodes his word that he'll watch his back at Bad Blood, but don't expect the pleasantries to continue afterward. WWE SmackDown planted the seeds for a renewed feud between the WrestleMania rivals.

Rhodes and The Bloodline were central to SmackDown on Friday. The undisputed WWE champion met with Reigns the night before but took the fight to The Bloodline without him on this week's show. Fortunately for Rhodes, Solo Sikoa's faction has made plenty of enemies in recent weeks.

The blue brand also teased more friction between Rhodes and his friend Kevin Owens, featured a terrific United States championship match and more.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

Rhodes and Reigns rendezvous, Owens has second thoughts

SmackDown's marquee segment was a cinematic meeting between Rhodes and Reigns. Georgia Tech was the neutral territory that Reigns and Rhodes met on. The university is Reigns' alma mater and resides in Rhodes' hometown of Atlanta. Reigns claimed everything Rhodes saw at Georgia Tech belonged to him. The undisputed WWE champion reminded his longtime rival that multiple generations of Rhodes men have bled across the state.

Getting down to business, Reigns told Rhodes that he had nothing to lose at Bad Blood. The Bloodline had taken his faction, the ula fala ceremonial necklace, and brutalized his trusted council of Paul Heyman and Jimmy Uso. Rhodes asked for Reigns' word that he'd watch his back in their tag team match against Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood. Reigns agreed but warned Rhodes that once his business with The Bloodline was settled, Reigns was coming after the undisputed WWE title Rhodes took from him at WrestleMania 40.

Kevin Owens and Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) def. The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) via disqualification after Loa, the illegal man, threw Owens into the steel steps. Owens was originally scheduled to team with #DIY against The Bloodline; however, a pre-match assault left Owens partnerless. The Street Profits rescued Owens, leading to a new main event. The high-paced action drew chants of "This is awesome" from the Sacramento crowd, particularly after Owens entered the fray. A fisherman's buster off the top rope was the visual highlight of the match, plus Ford's aerial feats. The match's final sequence saw Owens hit Tonga with a stunner. Loa interrupted the pinfall by pulling Owens outside and tossing him into steel steps. WWE's rules stipulate that an illegal participant cannot attack the opposing team's legal wrestler. Loa interception forced a disqualification.

A brawl broke out post-match. The Bloodline got the better of it, even after an injured Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa tried to intervene on the heroes' behalves. The Bloodline was about to powerbomb Owens through the announcers' table when Rhodes made the save with a steel chair. Owens looked as if he was about to hit Rhodes with a steel chair -- harkening to their feud heading into Bash in Berlin -- but opted against it.

The cinematic rendezvous between Reigns and Rhodes was a tidy piece of business. One of WWE's biggest improvements in the last two years has been setting up future storylines. They did just that by teasing Rhodes vs. Reigns once the latest Bloodline saga is complete. The creative team also hasn't forgotten about the short but compelling friendly feud between Rhodes and Owens. It looks like the WWE champ is going to have his hands full through 2024. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• United States Championship -- LA Knight (c) def. Andrade via pinfall with a BFT. Andrade and Hayes got into a scuffle backstage.
  
• Apollo Crews def. Giovanni Vinci via pinfall with a flash rollup. Vinci attacks Crews post-match with a vertical brainbuster.
• Bayley and Naomi def. Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton via pinfall with a double pin. If Bayley or Naomi scored a pinfall, they would earn a WWE women's title shot against Jax at Bad Blood.
• SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis booked a No. 1 contenders match between Bayley and Naomi next week.