Cody Rhodes teases showdown with Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes teased a showdown with Roman Reigns on tonight's episode of SmackDown. The American Nightmare successfully defended his title against The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa last Friday night on the blue brand.

Ahead of tonight's edition of WWE SmackDown, Cody Rhodes took to social media to share an interesting message. He will be teaming up with Reigns to battle The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood on October 5 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rhodes shared an image of himself with Reigns ahead of their showdown tonight on SmackDown. The two stars met up last night at Georgia Tech, and the video of the "intense exchange" will be aired tonight on SmackDown.

Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XL earlier this year. Reigns went on hiatus for several months but returned at SummerSlam to cost Solo Sikoa his opportunity to become champion. Roman Reigns also appeared during the final moments of last week's SmackDown to help Cody Rhodes during an attack by The Bloodline.

Former WWE manager comments on Cody Rhodes' popularity

Wrestling legend Dutch Mantell recently noted that he was not a huge fan of Cody Rhodes but could not deny his popularity among WWE fans.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show, Mantell admitted that Rhodes wasn't his favorite but noted that the 39-year-old was incredibly popular. The veteran said Rhodes was over with families and predicted that he would never turn heel.

"Now, I'm not a huge fan of Cody, but the son of a gun is over. He is over with the kids; he is over with the families. Because he represents, you know, he doesn't do drugs, doesn't talk bad stuff, so he is kind of a fixture for them that you can put after the kids, but I don't think we'll see Cody as a heel. I really don't." [33:03 - 33:40]

You can check out the video below:

Reigns and Rhodes were once bitter enemies. It will be fascinating to see if they can put their differences aside and work together to defeat The Bloodline next month at Bad Blood.