Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson went full heel on SmackDown

The Rock is in The Bloodline.

And he vowed that Cody Rhodes will leave WrestleMania a loser.

The storytelling in WWE has changed significantly in the past few weeks, shifting suddenly from a heroic return from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to seeing him embrace a throwback spot as a heel.

Friday night’s SmackDown was built all around Roman Reigns and The Rock. They didn’t disappoint, delivering an outstanding show-closing segment.

Reigns set the table, cutting an excellent promo after making the crowd in Salt Lake City acknowledge him. He then introduced The Rock as the newest member of The Bloodline, which led to a horrendously timed commercial break. But once the show was back on, and The Rock and Reigns were together in the ring, it was again clear that the two are working together, which was not the original plan when Rhodes introduced The Rock only two weeks ago.

The Rock then went full villain, cutting into the crowd and mocking Rhodes. He promised that Rhodes would not win at WrestleMania, then officially joined The Bloodline.

Overall, it was an outstanding segment. There are so many different directions that WWE can go with us, all of which could lead to a spectacular WrestleMania. Plus, Rhodes will need to respond, and it will be especially fascinating how Seth Rollins factors into the story.

Paul Heyman still needs to work his magic by cutting a promo about the entire situation, which feels long overdue. And there is the inevitable showdown between Rock and Rhodes, which also has the potential to be a phenomenal match for WrestleMania, in addition to Rhodes-Reigns.

There are plenty of options for WrestleMania. The Rock has infused even more energy into WWE, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.