After officially punching his ticket to Lyon, France for his first-ever WWE Premium Live Event match at Backlash, AJ Styles was finally afforded a chance to size up Cody Rhodes in the opening segment of the penultimate SmackDown before the big event; a moment significant for more reasons than one.

Taking the microphone first, Styles attempted to explain his recent actions to the WWE Universe, noting that while he is very much still a heel, this isn’t going to be the same program as the one he just finished with LA Knight. No, this time around, Styles is looking to secure a clean win over his fellow Georgia boy, as he wants to make sure the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is in the best hands possible heading into the summer.

“I don’t know if you realize what we have here, we have two Georgia boys ready to mix it up for the first time for the biggest prize in the game. And I can understand why you boo me; I understand that I get it, but you got to know that I don’t respect LA Knight, and he got under my skin. I accept it, I accept it, hey, that’s why I lost at WrestleMania, but what happened? I got my composure back, and I realized that I am “Phenomenal,” and I beat LA Knight to earn the right to face Cody Rhodes at Backlash,” AJ Styles declared.

“Now, unlike LA Knight, I respect you, Cody Rhodes, I really do; we haven’t crossed paths yet, but we’ve been down the same roads, and we had to prove ourselves outside of WWE. And I’m willing to believe that the same man that gave me advice a long time ago gave you the same advice, Cody, how to stand on our own two feet and be the men that we are today, and he goes by the name of the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. I learned a lot from your dad, he’s a good man; he taught me how to carry myself and how to carry the weight of a champion. And I look at this right here, and the weight of this isn’t just of leather and gold, and at Backlash, we’re going to see if you can carry it.”

And with that, Styles signed the contract, leaving Rhodes to etch his name on the document and say his peace ahead of their highly anticipated match in France.

THE UNDISPUTED WWE CHAMPION @CodyRhodes HAS ARRIVED ON #SmackDown for his #WWEBacklash Contract Signing with @AJStylesOrg! ✍️#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/GIee0W8zu7

— WWE (@WWE) April 27, 2024

Cody Rhodes isn’t taking AJ Styles lightly at WWE Backlash.

When AJ Styles finally finished talking, Cody Rhodes responded to the second leader of the Bullet Club, letting his fellow former member of New Japan Pro Wrestling know that he isn’t backing down from any challenge to his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

“So Cincinnati, what do we wanna talk about,” Rhodes asked the crowd. “Certainly, we can talk about respect, there is not a locker room on Earth that you’ll find where everyone in it, every single person, they all respect AJ Styles. Last week, I went on to say you are the modern-day ‘Excellence of Execution,’ I respect the roads that you have traveled down to get here, the parallel path that perhaps you and I had, much respect, mutual respect, but that respect goes by the wayside at Backlash. I can feel it in your words to a degree; you’ve been here before, and it seems like you’re implying that I cannot carry the weight of that championship. Well, good thing the man who trained me not far from where I sit now used to tell me all the time, it’s not about winning the title, it’s about keeping it. And boy, do I respect your familiarity with my last name, but when I put C-O-D-Y in front of it on this paper, that means we have never touched before. That means at Backlash, it is a level playing field. That means that no matter how ‘Phenomenal’ you are, this is not a dream match for me: it’s a must-win.”

Nice Bret Hart comp, very high praise for a wrestler who knows a thing or two about the history WWE and wrestling as a whole. Still, before Styles could shake Rhodes’ hand, he had to get one final comment in, letting him know that, at Backlash, things are going to change.

“You know Cody, it was a beautiful thing to see you finish your story and get the championship. But it’s a shame that your title reign is going to end at Backlash.”

Will Styles’ commentary come true at Backlash, ending Rhodes’ run with the belt before he hits a month as champion? Or will Rhodes’ unrelenting determination keep him in the top spot on the Blue Brand, keeping the hope alive that he will eventually hold the strap long enough to wrestle The Rock for it? Frankly, it’s probably the latter, but hey, when it comes to professional wrestling, you never really know what’s going to happen.