Philadelphia hosted the latest "WWE SmackDown" and was treated to an excellent show. As teased on "WWE Raw," we heard from Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton for the first time since their big angles at Elimination Chamber. Several champions also had matches, including Tiffany Stratton, Chelsea Green and Shinsuke Nakamura. Unfortunately for the latter, he was dethroned in the main event. (YEAH!)

We don't deserve Cody Rhodes. The Undisputed WWE Champion's promo to address everything that happened at Elimination Chamber with John Cena was spectacular.

Rhodes focused heavily on Cena, which surprised me because of how pivotal The Rock was to everything. WWE really has crafted this perfectly ... so far. It's only been less than a week, but after Rhodes intensely recalled his history with Cena and Philadelphia, I was hooked. The whole concept is obviously massive, with Cena taking this long-awaited plunge into darkness, yet still the image of what it'll look like on WrestleMania 41 night is hard to paint.

As Rhodes hammered home his points, it felt like we might get that rare Cena appearance, but no, we'll have wait at least one more week. He has to show up before 'Mania at least once, right? It would be bigger to wait until the big week in Las Vegas, but hearing from the man himself is half the intrigue. There are almost too many ways to spin this one, but I'm loving it early.

It'd been a good while since an epic Randy Orton promo to kick off a WWE show. And wow. I mean, how did anyone not miss this guy? He's such an anomaly in coming off like a total veteran who is somehow simultaneously fresh as a daisy.

Orton's callbacks with subtle jabs to Cena's turn with The Rock were unexpected, but worked for him considering their history. Orton was the only perfect option left for Cena's retirement match until the turn, however he was busy with the Kevin Owens rivalry — and that's more than OK now, because it's picking up stream. On Friday, Orton channeled his vintage self to promise Owens hell.

If your ticket wasn't already sold, it should be now.

I've demanded the Jade Cargill return far sooner than it arrived, but wow — I have to say, this has been delivered far better than I ever imagined it could be. Tonight was damn emotional, folks. What the hell?!

Bianca Belair and Naomi absolutely acted their asses off in the ring when addressing each other and what happened at Elimination Chamber. These women cried together and Naomi pleaded her allegiance as the type of psycho friend who'd do anything for her other half — arguably too much. It was excellent. It felt real, as if we were all watching the friendship between two pals publicly crumble.

This whole segment effectively removes Belair from Cargill and Naomi to instead focus on WrestleMania 41, as Cargill came out to beat Naomi down some more.

I won't lie, I laughed when Naomi screamed "Bianca!" as she was hit with the Jaded.

The Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair WrestleMania 41 title match is specifically booked for the quality of the match, and that gets more apparent by the week.

Tonight, Stratton beat Piper Niven in a nice showcase match for the champion. But they're all showcases for Stratton. She's phenomenal. Afterward, Flair attacked for no reason other than the fact that they have a match booked. It's good that Flair is back to fully being a heel, but there's zero creativity getting shown here. Flair explained later in the show that she warned Stratton she'd be "everywhere" Stratton is and that the division is soft now. Meh. Playing into the past vs. the present element is right there; instead, it's being ignored while Tiffy does side quests. It'd be nice if Flair had some matches here and there too, and if not, WWE could play into that with Stratton pointing out how privileged Flair is.

It's all over the place.

The best part of the attack, however, was Stratton not tapping when put in the Figure 8 submission. It was looking worrisome for a second.

Tonight's Braun Strowman program was a rollercoaster ride. His match with Solo Sikoa was effectively pointless in story progression with Sikoa and Jacob Fatu; instead, it moved the spotlight back onto Strowman and Fatu, which is also awesome, considering they never had a proper blow-off.

Tama Tanga attacked mid-match to earn Strowman the DQ win before he took out everyone, including Fatu with a massive chokeslam through some tables in the crowd. Strowman looked his former self in all of this, and even Fatu remained strong when he nearly no-sold the chokeslam. That earns some mixed feelings, but this has to be headed in a crazy direction akin to the Strowman-Bobby Lashley feud.

Strowman and Fatu would've won this category, but Chelsea Green and Michin literally had a street fight match for the Women's U.S. title, so it was mandatory.

The Green-Michin rivalry shouldn't have even become a rivalry. Yet it's been revisited several times now unnecessarily — sometimes with breaks in between, like last week. I don't really get it, but this match was fun because of course it was. If you give these two freedom to play with the environment and weapons like this, it'll be a good time.

There were plenty of fun spots; Michin surviving a coast-to-coast with a garbage can was a bit much though. To win, we got an Alba Fyre appearance and assist for the champion Green, which can only prolong this rivalry because, as we've seen, WWE doesn't know what to do with Green's title reign. Green took an awesome bump through a staggered table on the rope before Fyre made the save. I get we're doing the "coward heel that needs support" thing, but Green is great in the ring, so winning in these sorts of ways is doing her a disservice. Still, this was a fun match overall and the crowd ate it up.

Naomi wore a sparkly neck brace out to the ring for her Belair interaction. I mean, at least she's owning the look. That was hilarious.

Drew McIntyre beat Jimmy Uso in a speedy car crash of a match. McIntyre attacked Damian Priest earlier as the cameras centered on him entering the arena. That was a fun little twist before we later heard a classic McIntyre promo backstage.

Priest got him back after the match with an assault. It feels like this is all the company has for these two at the moment. It is what it is.

Joe Tessitore called the Green-Michin rivalry "sensational." If that sensation is pain, then yes, he's correct.

Pretty Deadly beat Motor City Machine Guns and Los Garza in a triple-threat tag contender match. I love a good triple-threat. Double the bodies, double the fun. This was fun. Pretty Deadly winning was not.

The main event centered around the U.S. title. That was nice to see, but unexpected despite last week's big showcase with the tournament. Unfortunately, the title tilt between Shinsuke Nakamura and LA Knight felt insignificant compared to all that came before it.

But Knight reclaimed the title in another fun match between these two. They just flow well together and found more creative ways to work a finish, as poor referee Charles Robinson took the mist after doing his job. The man stopped a DQ from a Nakamura chair shot and that's what he gets in return?! Brutal. Ultimately, it led to a Knight BFT on the chair before a new referee emerged to count the 1-2-3.

There's not a ton to say about it other than Knight should've never lost the title, as evidenced by his promo work earlier in the night. Why did Nakamura need to be a champion? He never got used even after his epic repackaging of sorts. Here's to hoping we see a great feud for Knight into WrestleMania 41. He deserves it and then some.