Cody Rhodes Vs. Jacob Fatu At Saturday Night’s Main Event | Key Points
- Cody Rhodes faced off against Jacob Fatu in Saturday Night’s Main Event’s opening match. The match was never officially started as the two brawled all over the arena.
- WWE Undisputed champion Drew McIntyre appeared out of nowhere and put an end to the brawl by attacking both Rhodes and Fatu. This was a crowd-pleasing brawl with no finish, and is guaranteed to lead to a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship.
Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu brawled to a no contest as their fight started before the match could. A heelish Fatu attacked Rhodes while he was still posing on the second rope, and the rest turned into a wild brawl that rendered WWE officials as nothing more than collateral damage.
Cody’s feud with Jacob Fatu was put in a microwave and heated up with quickness. After Fatu cost Rhodes the WWE Championship by first attacking McIntyre—then turning his attention to Cody—Rhodes and Fatu have been involved in pull-apart brawls and most recently an excellent face-to-face segment. The locker-room showdown between Fatu and Rhodes used Fatu’s real-life background to simulate a personal conflict.
“It certainly didn’t look like ‘thinking’ in Three Stages in Hell, it looked like you were acting,” said Cody while admonishing Fatu during their backstage segment.
“I’m not gonna talk to you about somebody kicking your teeth down your throat, I’m gonna talk to you about what every single person in this room is already thinking but doesn’t have the balls to tell you. You acting, and not thinking, you acting? That’s what got you locked up in the first place. That’s what got you put in prison in the first place.”
“You think I’m like every other Samoan that you went against? They don’t make em like me no more,” responded Fatu. With limited time to build up to Saturday Night’s Main Event, just days before the Royal Rumble, Rhodes and Fatu hit a home run with one of the early candidates for feud of the year.
Cody Rhodes Vs. Jacob Fatu | Highlights And Takeaways
- Jacob Fatu walked with his usual trash-talking entrance. Fatu said he went from EBT to WWE. Cody Rhodes was out next wearing a chrome skeleton helmet.
- The brawl started while Cody Rhodes was still in his ring jacket. Jacob Fatu pounced on Cody before he could hit his signature “whoa’” pose from the top rope. An errant shot by Cody Rhodes sent the referee to the ground as WWE officials ran in to stop the brawl before the match started.
- Fatu hit a wild double-jump flip onto the officials. Fatu attempted to walk off as the fans booed. Rhodes chased him down the ramp and continued the brawl. Rhodes dumped Fatu out of the ring with a clothesline followed by a suicide dive.
- This was described as a flat-out fight as Rhodes and Fatu brawled into the crowd. Despite their best efforts, WWE officials helpless to stop them. Rhodes shoved a dumpster into Fatu and shoved an official for his troubles.
- Fatu and Rhodes took turns fighting each other and then the WWE officials. Wade Barrett said fines would be coming. Fans chanted “this is awesome.” Fatu slammed an official through a table as the action spilled toward the concession stands in the Bell Centre.
- Fatu and Rhodes worked as a team to dispose of the WWE officials before getting back to fighting one another. Suddenly, Drew McIntyre appeared out of nowhere and low-blowed Fatu. McIntyre sent Fatu through a table in the crowd, then power bombed Rhodes through another table. Fans chanted “holy s—t!” Drew McIntyre stared, smugly, into the camera before walking off as fans booed.
Rhodes’ babyface feud alongside antihero Jacob Fatu has sparked rumors of a possible Rhodes heel turn. Fatu’s assailant has yet to be confirmed, and the fact that Fatu swears it was Drew McIntyre tells me that the Scottish Warrior is but a red herring. Rhodes has been a babyface—effectively portraying this same character—dating back to when AEW opened its doors in 2019. Rhodes has gone on to become a top draw in WWE at its peak. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In more ways than one, the Cody Rhodes character is far from broke.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Cagesideseats.com) noted there are no plans for Rhodes to turn heel anytime soon, which is exactly why fans should look alive and expect one. Dave Meltzer has one of the worst track records in the history of journalism, let alone wrestling journalism, and a Meltzer report is about as accurate as a blind swing at a miniature piñata.