Rhodes and Cena brought their A-game in Friday's closing segments. The rivals spoke with conviction, honesty and sharp wit. They couldn't make sense of The Rock-sized gap in the story, but had the live audience riled up.

His appearance headlined a jam-packed episode of SmackDown on USA Network, which also featured the 2025 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, The Street Profits defending the WWE Tag Team Championship, and all of the final hype for the biggest show of the year.

Rey Mysterio is scheduled to face El Grande Americano Saturday night at WrestleMania 41, but that match may now be in question. The WWE Hall of Famer was competing in a six-man tag team match Friday night on SmackDown and suffered an injury at some point during the bout.