5 Things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: 28-year-old star "sacrificed" to superstar getting a title push, Roman Reigns teases kicking another member out of The Bloodline (March 3, 2023)

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. It was a solid episode from start to finish, as the month of March began with a home-run stretch on the road to WrestleMania.

The episode saw Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes meeting for the first time, further dissension within The Bloodline, a huge inevitable ladder match at WrestleMania, two superstars on the path to a title push, and more.

Let's jump right into what WWE subtly told us on SmackDown this week:

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#5. Tegan Nox used as a sacrificial lamb for Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler's rise to tag team glory

Tegan Nox looked good on SmackDown for one whole week! This week, a backstage brawl led to a slight change in plans, with Shayna Baszler going up against Tegan Nox in a singles match rather than the planned tag team match.

Baszler came out to Ronda Rousey's music, while Nox came out to Natalya's theme. It was a bit odd to see that, but either way, WWE made it clear that the match only had one objective - to make Shayna Baszler look strong. She won the match via an Armbar submission.

WWE is building Baszler and Rousey as a tag team for their inevitable title push at WrestleMania 39 against Becky Lynch and Lita. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old Nox was used as a sacrificial lamb for that.

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#4. Roman Reigns teases kicking another member out of The Bloodline?

Tensions have been boiling within The Bloodline. Jey Uso's absence has left a big gap, and Roman Reigns decided this week that he will stop blaming Sami Zayn for what happened and blame... Jimmy Uso instead.

You read that right, Jimmy Uso is now under the microscope, and Solo Sikoa is the only member of the Bloodline who has done no wrong so far. He defeated Sami Zayn in the main event of SmackDown this week, which we didn't like until the way things played out.

Jimmy Uso had one clear instruction - to get rid of Sami Zayn for good after the main event. While he helped Solo Sikoa win in the main event, he failed to take out Sami Zayn, and the former Honorary Uce stood tall in the end after the post-match attack backfired.

Roman Reigns is now furious, and this may play a big role in how things work out between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens against The Usos at WrestleMania 39.

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#3. The six-man ladder tease for Gunther at WrestleMania 39

Drew McIntyre has made it clear for a few weeks now as to where his priorities are. This week on SmackDown, he came out and challenged for the Intercontinental title, only for a furious Sheamus to call him a "backstabbing ba**ard."

LA Knight interrupted, followed by Kofi Kingston (with Xavier Woods) and Karrion Kross (with Scarlett). It seems clear that a six-man ladder match will be the direction for the Intercontinental Champion Gunther at WrestleMania - which is great because it means Gunther can lose the title without getting pinned.

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#2. The continued Dominik vs. Rey Mysterio build-up and the inevitable conclusions

Dominik Mysterio has done well to continuously receive nuclear heat. On SmackDown this week, Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan while Rey Mysterio's ally Santos Escobar confronted Dominik.

It led to a match between Dominik and Santos Escobar, where Rhea Ripley's interference helped her fellow-Judgment Day member win. Dominik even took the mask that Rey Mysterio gifted Escobar and ripped it apart - much to the latter's fury.

Rey tried to confront his son but couldn't lay his hands on him and got taken down once again. It's a slow-burning build-up to their WrestleMania match when Rey will finally lay his hands on his son.

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#1. What was WWE trying to accomplish with the Cody Rhodes-Roman Reigns segment on SmackDown?

We will admit that Cody Rhodes' promo this week on SmackDown was weak. The face-off was set to kick-start WrestleMania's main event feud officially, but the American Nightmare didn't seem comfortable.

Either way, the interaction was essentially just WWE dipping their toes into the water to see the chemistry between Rhodes and Reigns. Nothing was too deep about it, but we expect their future confrontations to be much tenser.