Beauty and the Tribal Chief

The Joe Show

The Joe Show

It's a crisp, sunny March day when Ashanti arrives in Iowa City to join her Joe at the University of Iowa's Field House, where Pat McAfee is broadcasting his popular sports talk show.

Ashanti settles into a seat off to the side, watching with interest as Joe and Pat have an animated conversation covering Joe's meteoric rise to the top of the wrestling world and how he handles the pressures and spotlight differently than predecessors like CM Punk.

They delve into Joe's ambitious plans and whether he feels there are still greater heights to reach, as well as how he views legends like The Rock and Cody Rhodes as just mere chapters in the epic novel that is his own story and career.

After the interview wraps, Joe and Ashanti board Joe's private jet bound for Milwaukee, buzzing with excitement for the SmackDown show that night at Fiserv Forum.

The WrestleMania build continues with Cody and Joe slated to come face-to-face in the ring, while other matches include IYO SKY battling Naomi, Rey Mysterio taking on Santos Escobar, and tag teams competing to qualify for the WrestleMania ladder match.

Ashanti tells Joe she'll catch up with him later and finds Trinity in the women's locker room, where she's filming playful TikTok videos.

"I don't know how y'all do it with her," Ashanti said.

"Hey, girl," Trinity said. Ashanti greets Trinity and the other women in the locker room.

"I'm surprised Joe let you out of his sight," Bianca teased Ashanti.

"I'm grown," Ashanti joked.

"Okay now, when he calls you to come back to his locker room, you better tell him that," Jade said.

"Mhmm, 'cause she knows that man got her on a tight leash," Trinity said.

Ashanti playfully rolls her eyes. "I wear the pants in our relationship," Ashanti said, knowing that she's lying.

"Okay, Miss Pants," Trinity said.

The ladies joke about Joe's protectiveness over Ashanti, though she insists their relationship is one of equals. The girls talk about their plans for WrestleMania XL. Ashanti hangs out with the girls for a while, helping them get ready for the show.

When Joe inevitably calls for Ashanti to return to his private locker room because he misses her after only 20 minutes apart, the women tease her for obediently running right back to him, confirming she's "on a tight leash with a clingy boyfriend." But Ashanti just laughs and practically runs out of the locker room to get to Joe.

Ashanti hung out with Joe and Paul until they had to film their backstage segment, where Paul was shown talking to Joe and telling him that Cody had indeed shown up alone.

Ashanti follows the camera crew as they film Joe leaving his vehicle and he and Paul walk through the arena.

Ashanti stands in the gorilla, watching on the television as they make their entrance and Joe gets on the mic.

Joe says the Wiseman made a promise and the Tribal Chief kept his word because he's a man of his word and he's here alone aside from Paul, who is no physical threat, so let's bring Cody out here to acknowledge him.

Cody is shown walking backstage. Cody makes his entrance.

Joe asks him if he came alone and Cody says he's as much a man of his word as Joe is, so if he came alone, he came alone too. Joe calls him an idiot and runs down his actions of the last month or so, aligning himself with his little brother Colby, and where was he on Monday?