Love was in the air on Valentine’s Day in Lubbock, Texas, as WWE’s Road to WrestleMania tour rolled in.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky defended their titles against Kiana James and Women’s U.S. Champion Giulia in a lively bout, with Ripley hitting a Riptide on James to secure the win.
Afterward, Ripley presented Sky with flowers, delighting fans at the United Supermarkets Arena.
“Super duper happy Valentine’s Day,” Sky posted on X. “The WWE Universe in Lubbock, Rhea, and the
beautiful flowers made my sweet day!”
Affection briefly gave way to chaos, though, as Drew McIntyre defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes in the main event. McIntyre eventually got disqualified for striking Rhodes with a chair, then tried to punish “The American Nightmare” some more. Instead, Rhodes countered, putting McIntyre through a table with a flying body splash.
When the ring cleared, Rhodes spoke to the fans. Acknowledging the boos he received in other cities, Rhodes, appreciative of the positive reaction he received on this night, said, “Texas is never an away game for me. I can always count on Texas.”
He signed a piece of the broken table and handed it to a young fan. As Rhodes said goodnight, the boy held out his arms — and Rhodes hugged him, putting the perfect heart-shaped period on a memorable Valentine’s night.
