Rhodes and Reigns Were United and Biggest Takeaways from WWE Bad Blood 2024 Results

Doc-Chris Mueller Featured Columnist IV

Rhodes and Reigns Were United and Biggest Takeaways from WWE Bad Blood 2024 Results

The men and women of WWE arrived in Atlanta on Saturday for the first Bad Blood premium live event since 2004.
Two women's titles were on the line, a man was stuck inside a shark cage, The Bloodline civil war continued, and two men stepped inside Hell in a Cell.
Here is a rundown of Saturday's results:
1. CM Punk defeated Drew McIntyre
2. Nia Jax defeated Bayley
3. Damian Priest defeated Finn Balor
4. Liv Morgan defeated Rhea Ripley
5. Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes defeated Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu
Let's take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Bad Blood.

The PPV Host Concept Is Here to Stay

WWE has used PPV hosts for years during events like WrestleMania, but it seems the company has decided that the concept should be carried over to all PLEs.
The Miz, John Cena, The New Day and many more have served in this role, and Saturday's Bad Blood event featured Naomi, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair as hosts.
These are three women with charisma to spare, so while seeing them wrestle would have been preferable, knowing WWE wants to feature them in some capacity paid off.
All three are great at what they do, and their distinct personalities make for a fun dynamic. They may not be an official stable with a name, but using them as a trio was a smart move.
Hosting duties may seem like a joke to some fans, but being on camera is always better than not being on the show.

CM Punk and Drew McIntyre Destined to Fight Forever

A lot of feuds come and go in pro wrestling, but sometimes a promotion strikes gold and finds two people it can rely on to deliver great performances over and over.
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and John Cena and Randy Orton have all been longtime rivals WWE featured across multiple years.
We're seeing that develop in front of our eyes with Andrade and Carmelo Hayes on SmackDown, and we're also seeing it with Punk and McIntyre.
We never know how long anyone has left in their career, but if these two remain in the same promotion for the next few years, we're going to see them cross paths again because WWE knows it has a fantastic feud on its hands with them.
They entered Hell in a Cell tied at 1-1, but after a lot of blood was shed by both men, tables were broken, an assortment of hand tools were used to inflict punishment and both men survived each other's finishers, Punk delivered a GTS with a chain wrapped around his knee to get the win.
The Scottish Warrior and The Straight-Edge Superstar delivered a bloody show-stealing performance in the opening match of the night, so it was going to be hard for anyone to follow them.

Bayley and Nia Jax Bring Out the Best in Each Other

Bayley challenged Nia Jax for the WWE women's title on Saturday, and this bout was a great illustration of how two people can be perfect opponents.
Jax works best with someone who can take a lot of punishment, and if there is one thing The Role Model has proved, it's that she can take a beating.
When it comes to Bayley, she thrives as an underdog. Jax is one of the most dominant women we have seen in a long time, so she can easily make anyone feel that way.
They put on a physical and entertaining encounter. They had a tough job following Punk and McIntyre, but they did a good job giving us something totally different.
After some shenanigans with a ref bump and Tiffany Stratton, Jax was able to retain her title.

WWE Is Going to Play Favorites with Champions at Crown Jewel

Triple H announced that the world champions for both the men's and women's divisions will face each other at Crown Jewel on November 2.
Instead of their titles being on the line, they will be competing for a special Crown Jewel Championship belt that was unveiled by The Game.
WWE wants to give us the perception that its top titles are equal, but by doing something like these matches, it's going to make two champions look weak at the expense of making two others look good.
The belt may be trotted out once a year at Crown Jewel, but other than that, it won't be an important distinction.

Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Get Big Assist from Jimmy Uso; The Rock Is Back

Saturday's Bad Blood main event saw Reigns and Rhodes attempt to set their rivalry aside to take on their shared enemies, Sikoa and Fatu.
The American Nightmare was played to the ring by a marching band and dancers from his hometown of Atlanta, but there was a minor glitch with his quote being played twice at the start of his entrance music. Reigns had a completely different orchestra for his entrance.
The big question going into this bout was: "Can Rhodes and Reigns get along enough to beat a united duo as dangerous as Sikoa and Fatu?"
There was a lot of posturing in an attempt to add some drama to the situation. There were long pauses in the action during the first half so they could sell and act a bit.
Rhodes and Reigns never came across as best buddies. They did a good job selling the tension between them while still appearing to be united temporarily.
Bitter rivals don't always work well together, but The OTC and The American Nightmare managed to make good on their promise to watch each other's back. When it looked like the odds were too much, Jimmy Uso returned and helped distract Sikoa so Reigns could spear him for the win.
The Rock returned and seemed to indicate a plan to pursue Reigns, Rhodes or both.

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