For as newsworthy of a night as WWE Bad Blood 2024 was, the main event alone—and its immediate aftermath—gave a glimpse of some of the matches fans can expect in the coming weeks and months on the SmackDown side of things.

Cody Rhodes vs. The Rock is chief among them, having been in the works since before WrestleMania 40. The speculation has always been that they're bound to battle for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the next installment of The Show of Shows in April, but WWE would be better served to deliver the marquee match before then.

Seeds were planted for another potential matchup at Bad Blood when Bill Goldberg jumped the barricade and attempted to brawl with Gunther, who cracked jokes at his expense. The WWE Hall of Famer was long thought to be retired from the ring, but one more match may not be out of the question.

There's a way to justify putting Goldberg back inside the squared circle and going forward with a highly physical, hard-hitting affair between the two without it feeling as forced as it has in the past.

This installment of Quick Takes will analyze the possibility of Gunther vs. Goldberg, the right team to dethrone The Young Bucks as AEW world tag team champions, the risk WWE runs with the upcoming Crown Jewel Championship concept, and more.

The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes Is Best Suited for Royal Rumble

The tension The Rock and Cody Rhodes created in the buildup to WrestleMania 40 often overshadowed the latter's rivalry with Roman Reigns.

The Final Boss pinning The American Nightmare in the tag team main event of Night 1 ensured an eventual singles match between them.

The Rock promised as much in his post-WrestleMania faceoff with Rhodes on Raw, but it wasn't until Bad Blood that he finally resurfaced to tease the match coming to fruition.

Although The Great One's return doesn't automatically confirm they'll be colliding soon, the contest is better suited for the Royal Rumble than it is WrestleMania 41.

It's a 'Mania-worthy encounter no doubt, but Rock dethroning Rhodes as champ would be a nonsensical, unrealistic outcome. Rhodes retaining is fairly predictable, and there's no need to waste a WrestleMania main event on it.

Rock vs. Reigns is too big of a bout to pass up this year, while Rhodes vs. Randy Orton would be an equally exciting attraction for SmackDown's top title. Running Rhodes vs. Rock beforehand creates two huge 'Mania matches instead of just one.

The American Nightmare will likely be busy with Kevin Owens, who attacked Rhodes outside State Farm Arena in Atlanta following Bad Blood. But once that's resolved, Rhodes and Rock can settle their score and the undisputed WWE champion can move on from The Bloodline once and for all.

The Risk WWE Runs with Champion vs. Champion Matches at Crown Jewel

Triple H unveiling a Crown Jewel Championship belt at Bad Blood came with the announcement that the inaugural holders will be determined in matches pitting the men's and the women's world champions against each other.

It's essentially the same premise that the Raw vs. SmackDown brand-supremacy storyline Survivor Series carried from 2016 through 2021, except with slightly more prestige. It's a simple concept that will give us a first-time encounter between Cody Rhodes and Gunther that will surely be exciting, but it also has its fair share of drawbacks.

If it is an annual gimmick, WWE would need to make sure that the top titles are held by certain stars so the champion vs. champion matches at Crown Jewel are appealing on paper. For example, as it stands, there is nothing remotely interesting about Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax.

Moreover, one of the titleholders has to lose and non-finishes are non-negotiable. Rhodes and Gunther can obviously endure a loss at this stage, but it isn't ideal when they should be booked strong heading into their next title defense.

It isn't much different than the Raw vs. SmackDown shenanigans from years ago, and that could quickly become a problem.

Private Party Are Right Team to Dethrone Young Bucks

Even with the abundance of teams All Elite Wrestling has, the division has felt like it's on life support at times.

The Young Bucks recently had the best match of their latest reign as AEW world tag team champions at Grand Slam when they successfully defended the belts against Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher, but otherwise they have done little to spark much interest in the title scene.

The lack of credible competition hasn't left AEW with many options, but Private Party would be strong picks with the renewed push they've been receiving as of late.

The AEW originals have been underutilized for years and have been starting to gain real traction again. They beat The Elite on the Oct. 4 edition of Rampage before becoming No. 1 contenders to the tag titles on the next night's Collision.

Private Party beat the Bucks five years ago this week and haven't been booked as anything special since then. This is AEW's opportunity to try something new by crowning them at WrestleDream on Saturday and giving them the run that a team like Santana and Ortiz never got.

Another loss would knock Private Party back down to tag team purgatory indefinitely.

Drew McIntyre Deserves Extended Break from WWE TV

Shortly before inking a new deal with WWE in the spring, Drew McIntyre was strongly believed to be taking time off when his previous contract expired.

After catching fire as a heel and kicking off a heated rivalry with CM Punk, though, it would have ruined his momentum for him to go anywhere at that point. He's been a constant on WWE TV throughout the year and a recurring highlight on Raw as part of his program with Punk.

With him and The Second City Saint finally finishing their feud in a critically acclaimed Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood, there's no better time than now for the Scot to an enjoy an extended break from WWE TV.

Punk hinted at challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship following his last win over McIntyre a month ago, so that should be what's next for him.

The Scottish Warrior's direction going forward isn't quite as clear, and thus taking time off for the remainder of the year ahead of a possible Royal Rumble return would make the most sense.

Not only should Punk and McIntyre be kept apart for the foreseeable future, but the Scot also disappearing for a few months would also allow him to sell the effects of Hell in a Cell and put it over as dangerous.

Gunther Should Be Goldberg's Final Opponent

One more match for Goldberg is far from necessary. He wrestled his final contest to date at Elimination Chamber 2022 in a losing effort against then-universal champion Roman Reigns, and fans haven't exactly clamored to see him wrestle again since then.

Despite that, WWE amazingly managed to generate buzz for a bout between him and Gunther with the brief angle it ran at Bad Blood.

WWE has a tendency to tease matches it never intends to go through with, but Goldberg going so far as to enter the ring and posing on the turnbuckle to end the segment seemed to indicate that the bout might be a possibility after all.

The veteran's last run in the ring had more lows than highs, but with the right opponent, he can have the formal sendoff he's been looking for, especially if it were handled as a short-and-sweet sprint.

Gunther is more than capable of carrying the WWE Hall of Famer to a competent contest, and if nothing else, it would be another notable name for him to beat.

As a one-off attraction, the potential is there for it to be something special.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.