WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns draw lines in the sand before WrestleMania 40

Rhodes and Reigns both had backup with them for their encounter on Friday night

Cody Rhodes looks to have the mental edge over Roman Reigns heading into WrestleMania 40. Rhodes and Reigns met for what was supposed to be a private affair on WWE SmackDown.

The Bloodline's special council Paul Heyman invited Rhodes to SmackDown during an encounter on Monday Night Raw. Rhodes was promised a face-to-face encounter with Reigns with no shenanigans. It came to fruition but not without some careful planning by the world title challenger.

Elsewhere on SmackDown, Rey Mysterio competed for the first time since Crown Jewel in November. Two qualifiying matches for the undisputed tag team title six-pack ladder match occurred, plus an update on the career of Jade Cargill.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Rhodes takes the reigns in one-on-one meeting

The meeting between Reigns and Rhodes closed out Friday's show. Reigns tried to sew doubt between his WrestleMania opponents by harkening to Reigns and Rollins' time together in The Shield. Reigns said he knew Rollins intimately, that neither of them were good guys and that Rollins had a habit of betraying his friends. Rhodes praised The Shield's domination but reminded him that he and his brother, Goldust, were the first team to beat The Shield. Rhodes suggested that Reigns should be more concerned with how trustworthy The Rock is.

Rhodes conceded that Reigns is probably the greatest superstar of his generation -- in the same ilk as Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and John Cena -- but Rhodes said he'd be the one to beat him at WrestleMania. Rhodes offered Reigns a handshake, but the undisputed WWE universal champion brushed him off. Sikoa and Jimmy Uso entered from the crowd, despite Heyman promising their meeting would be private. In turn, Jey Uso and Seth Rollins emerged from the crowd to defend Rhodes. SmackDown closed with the two sides facing each other down -- The Bloodline on the rampway and their foes in the ring.

There wasn't a ton of substance to the encounter between Reigns and Rhodes. To be fair, not every week can be as emotionally weighted as The Rock promising to present Rhodes' mom with a belt soaked in her son's blood. There was still some stuff to like. Rhodes managed to build up his opponent while also putting himself over. "The American Nightmare" celebrated The Shield's dominance but reminded everyone that he and his brother were the first to beat them. He highlighted Reigns as the top star of his generation while promising to get the better of him if only for one night. Reigns' statements didn't pack as much ammunition and further proved that Rhodes deserves a run at the top. The visual of the two sides facing off was a nice touch if somewhat hollow. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• Santos Escobar def. Rey Mysterio via pinfall with a Phantom Drive following a distraction from Dominik Mysterio
• Bayley thanked Naomi for defending her from Damage CTRL last week. Naomi told Bianca Belair she needed her help after Belair got in Bayley's face
• Austin Theory and Grayson Waller def. The O.C. (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) via pinfall with a roll up to advance in a tournament to qualify for the undisputed tag team title six-pack ladder match at WrestleMania 40.
• Iyo Sky def. Naomi via pinfall after hitting her Over the Moonsault following a distraction from Damage CTRL. Sky laid out Bayley pre-match and Belair rescued Naomi post-match. Damage CTRL ultimately got the best of the situation.
  
• Jade Cargill was officially announced as a SmackDown superstar. She'll appear on the show next week.
• Kevin Owens and Randy Orton challenged Pretty Deadly to a tag team match next week. Owens punched both of them out with one punch.
• LA Knight was arrested after attacking AJ Styles at his home. The footage was provided by WWE's digital team, who were shooting a storyline documentary on Styles. Knight was released after Styles refused to press charges.
• Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) def. Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) via pinfall courtesy of a surprise roll up. Street Profits will face Theory and Waller next week. The winners qualify for the tag team title match at WrestleMania.