Roman Reigns is arguably WWE’s biggest superstar of this era. The often-polarizing star had a rough start to his legendary run but has seemingly won over many of his critics in recent years. Despite Roman’s status as a backstage leader, it’s now been revealed that he and another high-caliber star have zero interaction backstage despite their on-screen work.

The Original Tribal Chief has stronger ties to a few names, but many fans see his biggest rival as Cody Rhodes. The current Undisputed Champion historically pinned Reigns at WrestleMania XL, then teamed for Reigns’ ring return at Bad Blood last month. After the duo defeated Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, a leaked backstage report revealed future plans, but Roman and Cody still stand together.

The American Nightmare recently revealed how he and The Head of the Table surprisingly have zero interactions backstage. During his interview on the Flagrant YouTube channel, host Andrew Schulz said Cody and Roman are buddies now. However, The American Nightmare cut him off, stating he’s not sure if “buddy” is the right word. Rhodes recalled an exchange the two had ahead of their match at Bad Blood.

“I got to say something to him for the first time, because you’d be shocked if you came backstage, like, ‘Are they [working] me right now?’ Because… we just don’t have any interaction. We don’t, it’s not, there’s nothing… I’m not saying anything negative about him, I’ve never heard him say anything negative about me, we understand where we play at in this world. But I did get to tell him one thing before Bad Blood, which is, to me like, it’s the thing every wrestler wants to hear, which was, ‘Thank you for the house.’ Because tickets were really good for Atlanta,” Cody Rhodes said. [From 2:02:57 to 2:03:40]

Cody continued:

“We had sold out, but sold out again, just because you open up [seats], you open up, you open up, when he was introduced into the fray. So, I got that moment. I got nothing back [laughs]. It’s a unique relationship, every moment. […] He’s incredibly special, and has done so much for WWE. When people get onto him about the limited dates and stuff, they don’t realize: he was THE thing, he did all this. He’s earned everything he’s got right now.” [From 2:03:41 to 2:04:15]

The Rock returned after the Bad Blood main event, briefly appearing to stare down Cody, Roman, and Jimmy Uso. It remains to be seen what’s planned for this lengthy storyline, but Rhodes is working on major plans for WrestleMania 41.

Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes will both be on Friday’s Crown Jewel go-home edition of WWE SmackDown. The episode was taped last week at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NYC.

SmackDown will see the Undisputed WWE Champion team with Randy Orton to face World Heavyweight Champion Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser. Reigns is set for an in-ring promo with Jimmy Uso, and the leaked SmackDown spoilers confirm the segment has major implications for The Bloodline and Crown Jewel.

Saturday’s premium live event from Riyadh will see Cody face Gunther to crown the inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Champion. Their brand-specific titles will not be on the line. The Original Tribal Chief will also wrestle this weekend as he is set to team up with The Usos to take on The Bloodline.