Tag: WWE Smackdown

Randy Orton mystery caller angle continues on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A mystery caller continues to have the ear of Randy Orton.

After a scuffle with Matt Cardona earlier in the show, Jelly Roll convinced Orton to make things right both with Cody Rhodes, who he assaulted the week before, and Cardona. But later,Orton was seen on the phone with a mystery caller, telling the person on the other line that he would “fix” the situation. After calling out Cardona and apologizing, Orton snapped again and assaulted Cardona, wrapping his arm around a chair and stomping on it.

Orton explained his actions earlier in the night, saying that he attacked Cody Rhodes last week because Rhodes told him to be the best version of himself. Orton took that to mean to let the voices in his head control his actions, and that’s why assaulted and bloodied Rhodes. Backstage, Orton got confrontational with Cardona who seemed unpersuaded. Their confrontation ended up with Orton shoving Cardona to the floor and calling him a “mark a** stooge indie nerd.”

Before confronting Kit Wilson, Jelly Roll talked to Orton, saying the Orton he knew had a beautiful soul who cared about his family and the business. He convinced Orton to make things right with Cardona, though his words ultimately proved unsuccessful.

WWE SmackDown wrestler fined for posting rehearsal video

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

WWE will post behind-the-scenes footage and call it Unreal, but if talent posts their own video, they’ll apparently get in hot water. 

According to Andrew Zarian of Fightful.com, Tama Tonga of the Bloodline has been fined for posting footage from the March 13 episode of SmackDown just before fans entered the building. 

“Word going around at SmackDown is that Tama Tonga was fined by WWE for posting a video of rehearsals last week,” Zarian writes. “Was told it was significant of a fine.

“WWE has an unwritten rule about not recording/posting during rehearsal,” Zarian added.

Tonga has taken the video down, but one fan captured it and re-posted it. When it comes to exposing the business, it’s not exactly Bob Roop’s Plan B from 1979. On Friday, he seemed to respond to the report on social media:

Tonga’s video shows the view from the SmackDown stage at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The graphic on screen reads “DOORS IN: :00.” Tonga then turns to shoot the aisle, where Solo Sikoa is shown sitting nearby as a dozen or so figures mill about the ring, one of whom appears to be Cody Rhodes. 

Tonga then approaches a production assistant, calls him “T,” and asks what time doors open. “Now,” T replies, indicating fans are about to enter the building. Tonga can be heard laughing just before the video ends. 

Tonga did not wrestle on that show, but he was in the corner of Sikoa & Talla Tonga as they lost a non-title tag team match to Erick Rowan & Uncle Howdy. 

New Tag Team Champions crowned on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Damian Priest & R-Truth are the new WWE Tag Team Champions.

The unlikely duo won the titles on Friday thanks to copious interference between the Wyatt Sicks and the MFTs, who continue to feud over Bray Wyatt’s lantern. The finish of the match had the MFTs brawl with the Wyatts backstage as Uncle Howdy went to attack Solo Sikoa. JC Mateo broke up the brawl but walked into R-Truth’s side kick and was pinned soon after with the AA.

Truth & Priest’s title victory is their first as a team. This would be Priest’s third reign with the title while this is the first time Truth has held the WWE Tag Team title.

The duo became number one contenders two weeks ago when Priest found out that Truth put them in a gauntlet match to determine the MFTs next challengers. Although Los Garza dominated that match, Priest and R-Truth came out last and emerged as the winners. When the two teams bickered on last week’s show, they faced off in a match that saw Priest & Truth pick up the victory.

WWE SmackDown live results: Randy Orton addresses attack on Cody Rhodes

Posted on by Marc Quill

The road to the Undisputed WWE Championship title match between current champ Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton took a shocking turn last week when the contract signing for the match turned into a brutal affair.

Orton appeared to show his true colors to his long-time friend last week by laying a vicious beatdown on Rhodes, leaving him a bloody mess to end SmackDown last week. Tonight, Orton is set to address why he did what he did to a man he once called a friend.

Also set for tonight is Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre, as their bitter rivalry looks to explode once and for all. After Fatu played a role in McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE Title loss two weeks ago, the Scotsman returned the favor and attacked him on last week’s show.

Both sets of Tag Team championships will be on the line as The Irresistable Forces defend against The Bella Twins, while the makeship Damian Priest & R-Truth look to take the men’s Tag belts away from The M.F.T.s.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.

*************

– The show opened with a recap of last week’s WrestleMania contract signing and the heinous (or perhaps justified in some circles?) actions of Randy Orton against current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Following that recap, we went to our commentary team of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett, who stated that Orton’s actions were viewed as “heinous” by a majority of WWE fans. We then got shots of the various stars in action tonight

– As Jelly Roll arrived to the arena, we got a commotion backstage as several people ran out to the parking lot. As the cameras followed, Drew McIntyre was seen attacking Jacob Fatu in his car and beating him to a pulp. Security officials dragged McIntyre off of Fatu as the SmackDown parking lot seemed to become the NXT Parking Lot in this one instant.

Drew McIntyre fools around, finds out

An irate McIntyre stormed to the ring and shouted that what happened to Fatu is because of his WrestleMania main event being taken away from him. He’s interrupted by General Manager Nick Aldis, who called him the most self-sabotaging superstar around. Aldis talked about how McIntyre’s efforts cost him the Undisputed WWE Title, a match with Fatu tonight, and potentially being at WrestleMania. McIntyre stated that firing him and quitting is what Aldis would’ve wanted, as he then said that Aldis’s son, Donovan, would be ashamed of the kind of father that he was. McIntyre declared that he’d cause as much chaos as he wanted to when all is said and done.

Jacob Fatu walked down to the ring and wanted more of McIntyre as the fight was on at ringside. Fatu gained the upper hand in this brawl with a throw to the steel steps. The announce table was re-arranged while McIntyre was pummeled endlessly by a relentless Fatu. Security seemingly got Fatu to back off, but only for a moment, as he then got a head of speed and hit a big splash from the timekeeper’s table, as he crushed McIntyre through the commentary table! Fatu finally left as McIntyre was left lying in a heap.

I have to admit, this was a very hot start to the evening, and it seems that this is how we’ll push the Fatu/McIntyre match to WrestleMania, as the two were scheduled to compete tonight. As for that presumed Mania match, it’s one that can’t be just a standard one-on-one contest. There has to be a stipulation at play.

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WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The M.F.T.s (Tama Tonga & J.C. Mateo) (w/ Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga, and Tonga Loa) (c) vs. Damian Priest & R-Truth

Mateo & Tama represented the M.F.T.s under the Freebird Rule for this match.

Priest started off hot with a Flatiliner on Mateo, as he and Truth then hit a unique double team maneuver on Tama. Priest continued the momentum with a running forearm on Mateo. Talla Tonga clipped Truth at the corner as Priest got clotheslined out of the ring by Mateo. Talla attacked Priest behind the referee’s back as we took a break early on.

This match continued from commercial as Priest tried to fight out of the M.F.T. corner, but was rammed into the corner by Mateo. Priest then found himself being hit with a standing moonsault by Mateo, who then hit a running splash on his foe. Mateo shoved Truth from the apron, but he got cracked by a spinning kick from Priest. This gave him an opening to get the hot tag for Truth.

Truth channeled his inner “Ron Cena” as he hit the shoulder tackles, the Protoplex, and then the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. Truth couldn’t connect with the AA as Tama got out of it, with the M.F.T.s began to double team Truth. Priest was thrown out of the ring, as Truth hit Tama with a Stunner. At ringside, Tama was taken out by a clothesline from Priest while Truth locked in the STF on Mateo. Solo Sikoa created a distraction for the referee, which allowed Tama Tonga to hit a chokeslam on the apron. However, Truth kicked out at two somehow.

The Wyatt Sicks appeared and began to brawl with the M.F.T.s, as Uncle Howdy snuck up and got the Mandible Claw on Solo Sikoa at ringside. Mateo rolled out of the ring and threw Howdy into the barricade as he gave the Wyatt lantern to Sikoa. Inside the ring, Priest hit Tama with a running lariat, and Mateo was dropped by an AA from Truth and that’s it, over. We have new WWE Tag Team Champions.

R-Truth & Damian Priest def. The M.F.T.s via pinfall to win the WWE Tag Team Championships

Well, I can at least say that the Tag Titles are now likely out of the endless Wyatts/M.F.T. vortex for the time being, so I can’t hate this result all that much. Yes, a makeshift tag team won the gold, but I’d be lying if I said that this Truth/Priest team wasn’t growing on me. Maybe it highlights Priest’s strength as a tag team guy, so there’s that.

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– The Bella Twins were interviewed about their tag title match against The Irresistable Forces later tonight. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss interrupted while they ate ice cream. “Charlexa” called the Bellas selfish for jumping the line when it came to taking on Nia Jax and Lash Legend for the Womens’ Tag Titles. Brie and Nikki responded by saying that they’ll show Flair and Bliss how legends get it done, as they left while stealing Bliss’s spoon.

– Elsewhere, Candice LeRae was still with the ever-despondent Johnny Gargano, who was lying on a production crate. Danhausen appeared out of nowhere in true Danhausen fashion and offered his help with Gargano’s plight — on the condition that LeRae give him $20. LeRae gave the dough to Danhausen, who then vanished.

– Sami Zayn was asked by Cathy Kelley about what happened with Cody Rhodes last week. Zayn said he had a match against Aleister Black tonight, but he had a piece to say about Rhodes. He said that Rhodes tries to be a good person. Last week, Rhodes ended the night on a stretcher and bloodied, but Randy Orton ended the night with the Undisputed WWE Title in his hand. That seemed to shake Zayn to his core about what he believed in. Zayn was interrupted by Trick Williams, who talked trash to him, as he said that if he had time, he’d check out Zayn’s match with Black later tonight.

Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)

Frazer and Shelley got things going for this match, with the former showing some impressive speed with a 23mph kick. With Axiom as the legal man, the MCMGs got the upper hand with some double team action. However, the masked man battled his way with a leaping dropkick on Sabin. Fraxiom then teamed up with superkicks on Sabin and Shelley, as we took a break.

We picked up from the commercial as Axiom held his own against Shelley and Sabin before he tagged in Frazer, who hit a running dive over the ropes onto both MCMGs. In the ring, splash from Frazer to Sabin, but Shelley broke the count. With Sabin isolated, Fraxiom did an amazing rolling double team attack that led to their superkick and suplex combo on Sabin for the near-fall. Sabin was placed on the top rope in the Fraxiom corner, but he fought out of it and hit a splash on both Axiom and Frazer. The tag to Shelley as he and Sabin hit a Magic Killer for the near-fall. At this point, Candice LeRae appeared on the ramp.

Back in the ring, all four men got into it as Fraxiom leveled the Machine Guns with repeated suicide divesto ringside. LeRae walked up to the ring and got Frazer with a cheap shot, which allowed Sabin to roll Frazer up for the victory.

Motor City Machine Guns def. Fraxiom via pinfall

A fun little tag match, and I do appreciate we’re getting tag team storylines now that isn’t just the Wyatts and M.F.T.s fighting forever. This dynamic with the MCMGs and Candice LeRae & Johnny Gargano has me interested so far. I’m just glad that there seems to be a shift when it comes to tag team wrestling based on this story and the Truth/Priest victory earlier tonight.

*************

– Randy Orton, who was still sporting the shirt he wore last week, walked past the wreckage of Jacob Fatu’s car. We’ll be hearing from him up next.

– A recap of CM Punk and Roman Reigns’ faceoff from this past Monday’s Raw was shown, which included Punk popping Reigns with a punch for being called “old”.

Randy Orton on his brutal attack on Cody Rhodes

Despite being meant to be booed for bloodying up Cody Rhodes last week, Orton was cheered as he entered, with fans still singing along with his song. Orton held the chair that he used to brutalize Rhodes last week and set it up in the ring to sit on it.

Orton talked about how the crowd has sung along with his theme song for years now, as he felt the love. He signed fans’ posters, action figures, and that comes with the power he has for doing it as long as he has been. The love he’s gotten, it put a smile on his face. But… that smile was the emptiest feeling he had felt in his entire life.

Orton said that nothing lasts forever, as he didn’t want his legacy before retiring to be all the smiles he put on young fans’ faces. Instead, he wanted that legacy to be how many world titles he won. Orton talked about how he won the Elimination Chamber, and he was expecting Drew McIntyre to be his WrestleMania opponent. But, Cody Rhodes won the title on him, and he wasn’t sure how he could fight someone he saw as a friend.

However, last week, Rhodes took that burden off last week when he wanted Orton to be the best version of The Viper he could be. Orton said that he wanted to have the killer instinct to add World Title No. 15 to his legacy. And he was going to do it with the most dangerous letters in sports entertainment: RKO. Orton said that he heard voices in his head, and they counsel him, and that they talked to him. And those voices? They told him that he was going to beat Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship and he was going to do it WrestleMania.

As the crowd cheers couldn’t make it even more clear, the uphill battle of getting fans to boo Randy Orton with WrestleMania in four weeks will continue to get harder. WWE commentary and promo packages can continue to spin Orton as the dastardly heel against Cody Rhodes, but it’s clear the fans aren’t taking the bait whatsoever. The promo tonight didn’t really come across as an overly heel promo from Orton at all, though a typical “you people” heel promo would come across as forced at this point. It’s a dilemma WWE will need to figure out before April 18th and 19th, and I’m not too certain if the creative is up for it at this point.

*************

– Randy Orton was walking backstage as several wrestlers were looking at him funny. Matt Cardona walked up to him and called him out for his actions against Cody Rhodes last week. Orton got upset at the “mark ass stooge indy nerd” and punched him out. Orton shouted at Cardona to stay out of his business.

Sami Zayn vs. Aleister Black (w/ Zelina)

After Zayn made his entrance, Trick Williams walked down to a huge reaction from the crowd in Raleigh.

Black took advantage of Zayn being distracted by Williams’ arrival and floored him with strikes as the bell rang. Black pummeled Zayn with punches as he then attacked him in the corner. Zayn got out of the bind and then struck back with punches of his own on Black. With Zayn on the advantage, we took a break.

We returned from commercial as Zayn kicked out of a Black pinfall attempt after he got hit with a knee to the face just before the break ended. Zayn and Black traded strikes until the latter dropped the former with a spinning back elbow. Zayn avoided Black Mass and went for the Blue Thunder Bomb. Black countered and then hit him with another knee to the face. Black then locked Zayn in a pretzel knee bar submission hold that was reversed into a pin attempt for the two.

Zayn missed with the Helluva Kick as he then fell victim to a diving Meteora from Black. One, two… not quite. Black taunted the crowd, which opened him up to a clothesline from Zayn that sent him out of the ring. At ringside, Black was thrown repeatedly into the barrier by Zayn with enough force to shake it. As the two men got back in the ring, Zayn connected with the corner exploder suplex. The crowd seemed to boo Zayn as he got his best moves in. Zayn went for another Helluva Kick, but Black rolled out of the ring.

Zayn pushed Williams’ legs off the commentary table, which prompted the man with the “Lemon Peppa Steppas” to throw water at the back of Zayn. This frustrated Zayn to a point where he attacked Williams. Once Zayn took care of Williams, he got back in the ring and got cracked with Black Mass. The three and this one’s done.

Aleister Black def. Sami Zayn

A nice little match made better by the dynamic going on with Zayn and the crowd growing restless with his perpetual underdog gimmick, which seems to be by design based on the interactions he’s had with folks like Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu in recent weeks. That the actual in-ring action was solid was a good plus as well.

*************

– Matt Cardona tried to get a match with Randy Orton booked tonight from Nick Aldis, but was thoroughly denied. Carmelo Hayes wondered why the U.S. Open Title challenge was closed, because someone stepped up. That someone was Ilja Dragunov.

Jade Cargill addresses Rhea Ripley

The WWE Women’s Champion walked dowjn to the ring, ready to discuss her WrestleMania 42 foe, Rhea Ripley.

As soon as Cargill got in the ring, she demanded that Ripley face her down in the ring right now. On cue, Ripley entered to a huge ovation from the Raleigh crowd. As Ripley got into the ring, she wondered if they were going to keep talking or actually do something. Cargill said that it wasn’t about what Ripley wanted. Cargill talked about how she didn’t need the title or the fans. With or without wrestling, Cargill said she was that bitch, as she then paraphrased CM Punk, stating that she wasn’t here to make friends, she was here to make money.

Ripley responded by saying that she wanted to be here and how she lived for this since age 16. Cargill talked about how she didn’t need the locker room’s approval, but Ripley replied by stating that she didn’t need the WWE Women’s Title. Ripley said that the title needed her. Ripley offered to let Cargill take the first shot. Cargill refused and said “on my time”.

As Cargill left, Michin and B-Fab confronted her and seemingly were going to stop here. But, it turns out they were aligned with Cargill instead. The three took it to Ripley with a three-on-one beatdown.

This feud, I’m just not feeling it, and having Michin and B-Fab be aligned with Jade Cargill after months of feuding with her, I’m not sure about either.

*************

– The Miz and Kit Wilson were discussing how the latter should approach the Jelly Roll situation later on when Danhausen popped up once more. Miz said he wasn’t going to mentor Danhausen as a ladder fell behind everyone. After Wilson left, another ladder fell, but right on Miz, as he was still cursed courtesy of Danhausen.

– Solo Sikoa angrily yelled at the M.F.T.s for losing the WWE Tag Team Titles. Tama Tonga told Sikoa that maybe he should give back the Wyatts’ lantern to the Wyatt Sicks, as he then told Sikoa that he was starting to sound like Roman. The tense situation between Tama and Sikoa was interrupted with Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre still brawling as security tried to break things up.

United States Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov

These two started things off with a little chain wrestling action before Hayes slapped Dragunov in the face. That seemed to fire the challenger up as he charged into Hayes and went after him fiercely in the corner with chop after chop after chop. Hayes and Dragunov traded their best shots, as the challenger connected with a particularly hard Constantine Special, which took us to commercial.

We returned from commercial as Dragunov still had the advantage on Hayes, who tried to battle from underneath. A standing T-Bone Suplex from Dragunov snuffed out that attack, but Hayes managed to kick out at two. Dragunov kicked at Hayes, who got back up and responded with some strikes of his own. He lifted Dragunov on his shoulders as things picked up. Hayes got ahead of another Constantine Special attempt and connected with Dirty Diana for the two-count. Hayes clotheslined Dragunov out of the ring as he got a head of speed and hit a Fosbury Flop that he barely overshot as he collided with the commentary table. Frog Splash by Hayes on Dragunov wasn’t enough to get this match done.

Dragunov recovered and gripped Hayes by the waist and hit a German suplex as he then took off from the top rope with the diving senton for a close near-fall. Hayes headed to the opposite corner and looked for a Coast-to-Coast, but was intercepted with a First 48 from the U.S. Champion. Dragunov somehow turned that into a surprise H-Bomb. One, two… Hayes managed to get a foot on the ropes in the nick of time. We got another break in the action.

This excellent U.S. Title match returned from break as Hayes attempted a DDT onto the apron, but Dragunov caught him and instead dropped him with the Death Valley Driver onto the hardest part of the ring. Dragunov lifted Hayes and tried to go for the suplex as he took his foe up on the top rope for an attempted superplex. Hayes countered that into a falling cutter! One, two…. 2.99999999999!!!!!!! Hayes got back up to his feet and chopped Dragunov. The challenger withstood the pain and fought back with strikes of his own. Hayes and Dragunov traded their best shots at one another, as the latter hit a powerbomb at the end of it all. Hayes kicked out, but found himself hit with a backbreaker for another two-count.

In the corner, Dragunov had Hayes in his sights for the Torpedo Moscow, but the U.S. Champion intercepted with the First 48. Yet another close kickout from the challenger. After Hayes missed with a dive from the top rope, Dragunov blasted him with Torpedo Moscow. Dragunov lifted Hayes up for a powerbomb, but Hayes turned that into a sunset flip bomb of his own and the three to retain the U.S. Title.

Carmelo Hayes def. Ilja Dragunov to retain the United States Championship

Wow. What a match between these two once again. Hayes and Dragunov simply cannot miss and they’re magic in the ring when they mix it up. Just tremendous, high-stakes action and another fantastic U.S. Title match.

*************

– As Jelly Roll walked backstage, Randy Orton met with him. Orton apologized for his actions, but Jelly tried to speak some reason with him, as someone who knows how it’s like to be a bad guy. Jelly said that the Randy Orton he knew was a beautiful soul who loved his family and the business. Jelly pointed out that life is not about what you to do, it who you do it with, as he tried to convince Orton to make things right with Matt Cardona. Orton seemed to agree with what Jelly said after all this.

– We got a recap of the Oba Femi/Brock Lesnar segment from Monday’s Raw, as the match between these two at WrestleMania 42 was officially made.

Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll

Wilson said that Jelly Roll crossed a line last week by starting the fight, and he was here to finish it. Where Wilson came from, they settled it like men. He proceeded to call Jelly out, as the man himself walked down to the ring, looking for a fight. Wilson rolled out of the ring as Jelly entered.

Jelly said that Wilson called him out for a fight, and he was ready for it, so he demanded that a referee head out right now to get this match started. Wilson said that he didn’t fight with his fists, he fought with his words. Jelly seemed incredulous that he was brought out here for a rap battle, something that he didn’t see Wilson has. There would be no rap battle from, according to Wilson, as it was time for ‘slam poetry’ instead.

Wilson recited a poem about Jelly’s criminal past and his loss of weight, as he said that Jelly was proof that Ozempic did work. Wilson continued to make strange fat jokes about Jelly in his slam poetry. This prompted Jelly to come out with some disses of his own. As Jelly admired his banter, Wilson hit him from behind and hit him with a big splash. Wilson headed up to the top rope and hit him with a diving elbow.

I don’t think I have to go on a long, long rant about how this segment blew. I think it’s clear how much I did not find this segment funny or entertaining. That this could be how they bring in Royce Keys officially for a WrestleMania match doesn’t excite me either. Dire, dire stuff marked by the WWE “brand” of humor that’s unappealing.

*************

– Backstage, Jelly Roll walked up to Nick Aldis and demanded that he make a match between him and Kit Wilson for next week. Aldis approved and that’s what we got.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Irresistable Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend) vs. The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie Bella)

Brie and Nikki hit the tag champs with stereo dropkicks to the knees before we got Jax and Nikki mixing it up in the ring for a bit. After a tag to Brie, the Bellas kept the advantage as Jax was isolated from Legend. The twins tried for a double team, but got blocked by Jax. However, Jax couldn’t block the double bulldog from Nikki and Brie. At this moment, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss made their entrance, which distracted the Bellas. This allowed Legend to lay them out with big boots as we took a commercial timeout here.

We returned from break as Brie entered the match with a missile dropkick on Jax, followed by a running knee on her stunned foe. Brie avoided a hip attack from Jax, as she then channeled Bryan Danielson with the kicks to the chest. Legend tried to get involve, but got sent out by Brie. Nikki tagged in and hit a diving crossbody to the outside on both Legend and Jax. Back in the ring, a distraction from Legend allowed Jax to llift Nikki on her shoulder for an avalanche Samoan Drop. Legend then hit the big splash, but Brie broke up the count. Outside the ring, Jax tried to hit Brie with the Women’s Tag Title, but Flair broke it up as the referee called for a DQ.

Things erupted after the match as the Bellas, Charlexa, and The Irresistable Forces brawled it out. Jax and Legend gained the upper hand in this skirmish as Legend held Flair in position for a leg drop from Jax.

The Irresistable Forces vs. The Bella Twins ended in a No Contest

This match was terrible, and things ending in a similar manner to last week’s match, right down to Jax and Legend standing tall didn’t help matters. It felt like they hit CTRL+V on last week’s Charlexa vs. Jax/Legend match and just swapped out Bliss and Flair for the Bellas. Really rough way to end the in-ring action on tonight’s show.

*************

– Randy Orton was talking with an unknown person on the phone as he told them that he was going to “go fix it” right now in the ring.

Next Week on SmackDown

  • Kit Wilson vs. Jelly Roll
  • Women’s U.S. Championship Match: Giulia vs. Tiffany Stratton
  • The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie Bella) vs. Charlexa (Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss)

Let’s Hear From Randy Orton

As promised, Randy Orton was on his way to the ring yet again, still armed with his steel chair. Orton seemed to shake hands with some fans along the way on the ring, on the way to “fix the situation”, so to speak.

Orton once again set up the chair in the middle of the ring and took a seat, but then he got off it and said that he needed to make an apology to everyone, but more importantly, an apology to Matt Cardona. He called Cardona down to the ring so he could hear that apology. Cardona walked to the ring and stood face to face with Orton.

Orton said that he was out of his head in the past few weeks and he wanted to apologize. He said action figures were cool and video games were cool. Orton said that he had an apology to Cody Rhodes to make for next week, but he wasn’t here tonight. So, he asked if Cardona was going to accept the apology.

Cardona accepted it, but got suckered into a low blow by Orton, then an RKO out of nowhere. Orton threw Cardona out of the ring and placed him on the announce table. Orton grabbed the steel steps and set it against the announce table as security poured out to back him up. Yet again, the crowd was chanting for Orton in the midst of all this as the man himself seemed to gather himself and stopped, for the time being. Orton went after Cardona again and threw him into the ring, as security and officials once again took action to stop him. Cardona’s arm was wrapped around a chair, as Orton then stomped on it. The fans chanted “one more time” after it all as Nick Aldis got Orton to back off.

The Titantron showed Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre brawling as Aldis ran to the area where the two were brawling. Outside, Fatu and McIntyre were fighting on a ledge as the two took a huge tumble off the ledge to end our show, apparently without the usual copyright bug and Executive Producer credits.

*************

What a weird and wonderful ending to tonight’s show. Between the fans still cheering Orton despite doing really evil heel actions and the Fatu and McIntyre brawl, it was just wild to follow these last five minutes of the show.

First, let’s get back to the Orton stuff. At this point, it’s going to be impossible to have these fans boo him, even if he were to show up next week and Pillmanize Cody Rhodes. It’s just a situation where the still-popular-as-always Orton is going up against a Cody Rhodes whose crowd reactions are beginning to sour, and we’ll be ending up with a strange, strange situation, especially if WWE is dead set on keeping Rhodes a babyface for this match.

As far as the rest of tonight was concerned, it was surprisingly strong, with the in-ring action being good and carrying a lot of the load. However, I wasn’t feeling segments like the thing with Jelly Roll or the Cargill/Ripley face-off (and subsequent Cargill/B-Fab/Michin alliance), or the main event women’s tag title match. My highlight of the night was, of course, the U.S. Title match. Hayes and Dragunov can do no wrong at this point.

Buckle up, though, with four weeks until WrestleMania, the road is getting closer to its final destination, and for better or worse, things are going to be bumpy. Whether WWE Creative likes it or not, it won’t be smooth sailing at all for the stories they’re trying to tell, especially as far as the main events are concerned.

Drew McIntyre drops update on WWE SmackDown status

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Drew McIntyre has shared a message addressing his frustrations ahead of tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown.

A matchup between McIntyre and Fatu is set to take place on SmackDown this Friday night. In a social media promo, McIntyre expressed his discontent over not walking into WrestleMania 42 as Undisputed WWE Champion. He voiced disappointment for his family, including his nephew who will attend the event without seeing McIntyre walk down the aisle as champion. 

“Came for a check-in. Been a rough few weeks, right? Yeah. Same old story for Drew McIntyre,” he said. “Difference this time is that so many people are opening their eyes to the truth that I’ve been preaching and realizing it’s not whining, it’s not complaining. It’s just been fact this whole time. I don’t care how many of you are trying to jump on the bandwagon. It doesn’t make me champion, does it? I’m not gonna shy away from the fact that I should be walking into Mania as champion either. Family are all coming to America. Nephew, should be seeing his uncle walk down that aisle as champion but he’s not. I’m not gonna focus on how it all went down. I’ve done this dance so many times. I gotta keep fighting, I gotta keep pushing forward. But this time, I’m doing it my way.”

McIntyre then shifted focus to Fatu. He praised Fatu’s athleticism in the ring while mocking his past physique. McIntyre then dove deeper into his own WWE tenure where he was once on the same roster with the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, and Umaga.

“There’s a bunch of stuff I’ve got to focus on, but right now let’s just focus specifically on Jacob. You cannot move around WWE without bumping into a nepo baby or a fraud — Jacob happens to be both. I’ll say this about him, he’s an animal. Freakishly athletic for a guy that used to resemble a bumblebee and move like one. But [he’s] a pretty jacked bumblebee these days, I’ll give him that. He’s quick and he’s strong, he’s legitimately a bad man. He’s a man in a world full of boys. This used to be a man’s business. And as a bad man, I like that. But I’m quicker, I’m stronger, I’ve got the experience fighting the best this industry has to offer for a long time, hell I was in the same roster as Triple H at one point and Shawn Michaels. And that same day when I was looking around at those two, I went ‘My God, there’s Ric Flair in the corner.’ 

“I was in the ring with one of the best members of The Bloodline. I didn’t need anyone to fight my battles. I fought Umaga in WWE. That’s how long I’ve been around and yet I’m still one of the youngest grizzled young veterans. This point I should be way more grizzled [with] all the crap I’ve been through. But I am the original athletic freak in this game.”

Lastly, McIntyre said that he was not intimidated by Fatu’s criminal past and prison time. McIntyre proceeded to confirm his appearance for SmackDown despite claiming last week that he was “quitting” the show.

“Just cause you did time Jacob, means nothing to me. Nobody knows my whole story, they don’t know anything about me. They know what I put out there. Everyone says they’re a gangster until the real gangster walks in the room, right?”  

“What does my future hold? I really don’t know. I really don’t know at this point. But what I do know is I’ll see you this Friday on SmackDown, Jacob.”

The road to WrestleMania 42 saw McIntyre drop the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes after Fatu got involved in the match. Rhodes will now defend the title against Randy Orton at Mania.

Though McIntyre and Fatu are facing off on SmackDown tonight, it’s expected that their rivalry will continue into WrestleMania.

Title match added to updated WWE SmackDown lineup

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga are set to defend their WWE Tag Team Championship on the upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown.

Earlier this month, Damian Priest and R-Truth won the Tag Team turmoil match to crown themselves the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team titles.

With already a star-studded March 20 SmackDown scheduled, General Manager Nick Aldis recently announced that Sikoa and Tonga will now defend their titles against the number one contenders Priest and R-Truth.

The upcoming blue brand episode will also feature a Women’s Tag Team titles match between Nia Jax & Lash Legend against The Bella Twins.

WWE SmackDown updated lineup | March 20, 2026

The upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown is scheduled to take place on March 20, 2026, from the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

  • Men’s Tag Team titles: Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga defend against Damian Priest & R-Truth
  • Women’s Tag Team titles: Nia Jax & Lash Legend defend against The Bella Twins
  • Randy Orton will appear
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll
  • Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom

WWE SmackDown viewership and 18-49 rating both up

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.419 million viewers on the USA Network, up 19.2% from the previous week. It’s the second largest audience for the show since September 5th of last year.

SmackDown averaged a 0.32 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 18.5% from the prior week and was the third highest rating the show has done in that category since the September 26th episode.

The show went head to head with FOX’s coverage of the World Baseball Classic as well as various college basketball conference championship games across several cable stations. The show finished 4th on the prime time cable charts in the 18-49 demo, trailing three separate basketball broadcasts on ESPN.

As compared to the same week in 2025, the overall viewership was down 9.7% while the 18-49 rating was down 38.5%.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE SmackDown as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 23.2% in overall viewers and 14.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

Date18-49Total viewers
1/2/20260.281,175,000
1/9/20260.26990,000
1/16/20260.21968,000
1/23/20260.22943,000
1/30/20260.291,260,000
2/6/20260.351,459,000
2/13/20260.261,042,000
2/20/20260.291,113,000
2/27/20260.341,379,000
3/6/20260.271,190,000
3/13/20260.321,419,000
10 week average0.281,151,900

Randy Orton appearance added to WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Randy Orton will be live on SmackDown this Friday.

Orton was announced for the show shortly after he made an appearance on Raw. In what was originally announced to be a live interview, Orton instead seemed uninterested, choosing to talk to someone on the phone instead to talking to Michael Cole. When he was finished, he cut off Cole again and said he changed his mind about doing an interview. He instead said he had been in contact with someone who reminded him of who he was: a killer. He finished by telling Cole that “wrestling has more than one royal family,” referencing Cody Rhodes’ theme song.

On SmackDown last Friday, Orton viciously turned against his former friend, ripping off his shirt and smashing steel steps against Cody’s head, bloodying him up. Officials tried to separate the two but Orton emerged with a steel chair, smashing it against Cody’s head that was propped up by the steps. The closing moments saw Orton sit on the chair inside the ring, holding the WWE Championship as officials continued to check on Cody.

WWE SmackDown (March 20)

  • Randy Orton will appear
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll
  • Women’s Tag Team titles: Nia Jax & Lash Legend defend against The Bella Twins
  • Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu, Jelly Roll call-out set for next WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre will meet while Jelly Roll will be called out on next week’s SmackDown.

McIntyre, upset about his loss and being confronted by Jacob Fatu once again, declared he had quit in the opening segment of Friday’s SmackDown. But later in the show as Fatu wrestled Trick Williams, McIntyre revealed it was yet another ruse by jumping Fatu and throwing him into the turnbuckle, which eventually led to his defeat. In the next segment, Aldis responded to McIntyre’s latest attack by booking a match between the two for next week in Raleigh, North Carolina.

It also seems that Jelly Roll will be in attendance once again when Kit Wilson calls out the famed music star after a confrontation on Miz TV. Jelly Roll rejected an offer by The Miz to mentor him and Wilson responded by coming out and calling him toxic, leading to a shove. Jelly went to punch Wilson but wound up striking The Miz as Wilson fled.

The Women’s Tag Team titles will also be on the line when Nia Jax and Lash Legend defend against The Bella Twins who made their return to SmackDown on Friday to challenge whoever emerged as the winners between the champions and Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss. After Nia Jax laid out the twins, Brie retaliated by attacking Jax, costing Flair & Bliss the titles. The segment ended with Lash & Jax laying out both teams.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley will be in action next week against Fraxiom. Dissension has been teased between the group with Sabin resenting the idea of Shelley helping a depressed Johnny Gargano.

WWE SmackDown (March 20)

  • Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll
  • Women’s Tag Team titles: Nia Jax & Lash Legend defend against The Bella Twins
  • Motor City Machine Guns vs. Fraxiom

The Bella Twins return to TV on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Bella Twins are back, and are looking for the Tag Team titles.

Nikki and Brie made their return to WWE TV on Friday, coming out after Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss made their entrance for their imminent Tag Team title match against the Irresistible Forces. The twins declared that they were next in line for the Women’s Tag Team titles and would be at ringside for the upcoming title match to scout.

The twins ended up playing into the finish of the match when Nikki and Brie were caught in the crosshairs of a Flair/Jax brawl. Bliss got the upper hand for her team and was about to hit twisted Bliss on Jax when Brie entered the ring and attacked Jax for the disqualification. The confusion allowed The Irresistible Forces to recover and wreak havoc, laying out both teams in the process.

Brie Bella made her WWE return at the Royal Rumble, taking part in the women’s Rumble match. But after a promo featuring the two on the following Raw, they had been absent from TV ever since.

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton contract signing

Posted on by Marc Quill

Tonight on SmackDown, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton put pen to paper and make their title bout at WrestleMania 42 official.

Rhodes regained the Undisputed WWE Title last week after defeating Drew McIntyre in a high-stakes last chance match made following SmackDown GM Nick Aldis getting fed up with the former champ’s antics.

McIntyre will be certainly on the hunt for Jacob Fatu, who prevented him from using a chair during the title match last week as their beef is sure to intensify now that McIntyre is no longer a champion.

Grammy Award-winning musician Jelly Roll will make an appearance on tonight’s SmackDown after teasing it last week.

The show will air from the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. As of press time for today’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 9,180 tickets had been distributed for the show.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

***************

– Over flyover shots of Phoenix, the voice of Joe Tessitore welcomed us to tonight’s show before he tossed it over to a recap of last week’s Undisputed WWE Championship match that saw Cody Rhodes regain the title over Drew McIntyre. After that recap we got a shot of Rhodes chatting with Jelly Roll, as well as Randy Orton walking backstage.

Drew McIntyre calls out Nick Aldis

Meanwhile, as Nick Aldis was looking over the Rhodes/Orton contract, Drew McIntyre angrily interrupted and paced his way into the ringside area. An incensed McIntyre demanded that Aldis get out to the ring now to make it right. On cue, Aldis walked down to the ramp and said that there was nothing to “make right”. Part of being the Champion included defending the title, and Aldis stated that McIntyre should be looking at the consequences of his own actions.

McIntyre took exception and accused Aldis of being a “corporate stooge”, so Aldis went for the jugular and said maybe the reason why McIntyre kept screwing Rhodes over was because the moment Cody got a fair shot, McIntyre lost. The surly Scotsman stormed into the ring and threatened Aldis to once again make things right, as this was “bullshit” in his eyes. Just then, Jacob Fatu walked down to the ring to confront his archnemesis.

“Yaddamean?” started Fatu, who said that there was nothing to fix, because McIntyre wouldn’t even be champion if it wasn’t for him. In his eyes, Fatu stated that he fixed the situation because McIntyre was no longer champion. This wasn’t about Aldis or Cody, so McIntyre kept blaming everyone else. Fatu said to keep it one-hundred, he declared that he was the one who screwed McIntyre’s ass. “So, what are you going to to about it?”

Apparently fed up with it all, McIntyre said that he quit WWE, as he walked off.

This seems like it will lead to a McIntyre/Fatu match at WrestleMania, so it’ll be interesting to see how we get to that off of this angle of McIntyre “quitting”.

***************

– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s discussed strategy as the former was set to team up with Talla Tonga against Uncle Howdy & Erick Rowan. Sikoa once again asked Tama Tonga to keep watch of the Wyatt Sicks’ lantern. As everyone but Tama left, Shinsuke Nakamura once again talked to him about being his own man before Sikoa returned and warned Nakamura to stay away before he got hurt.

– Jacob Fatu was angry at Nick Aldis for Drew McIntyre quitting until Trick Williams interrupted things, and from there we got Jacob Fatu vs. Trick Williams made for tonight.

Uncle Howdy & Erick Rowan (w/ The Wyatt Sicks) vs. Solo Sikoa & Talla Tonga (w/ M.F.T.s)

Talla and Rowan got things going with a big man battle as they traded shoulder blocks. Talla struck Rowan in the face, as he hit him with a headbutt and forced him into his team’s corner. Sikoa tagged in and taunted Rowan, who responded with a shoulder block to knock the M.F.T. patriarch down. Howdy tagged in but quickly found himself trapped in the enemy corner. Howdy tried to fight back, but Talla pulled him out of the ring and threw him all about at ringside as we took a break.

This match continued from the break as Talla was the legal man and maintaining control over Howdy with a running splash to the corner, followed by a Samoan Drop. Howdy, however, kicked out at two following that. Sikoa tagged in and tried to hit Sister Abigail on Howdy, but that got reversed into a back suplex. With both men, the two men tried to reach their respective big men as they got the tags in.

Rowan went on the attack against Talla with a running elbow that knocked him down. Rowan then headed from the middle turnbuckle for a diving attack for a near-fall. With Talla down and out, Rowan lifted him on his shoulders, but Sikoa blind tagged, which allowed Talla to escape and hit Rowan with a clothesline. On the top rope, Sikoa went for a splash, but Rowan got his knees up. Howdy tagged in and attempted a Sister Abigail of his own, but got countered into the Samoan Spike. Rowan broke up the count as he and Talla took each other out at ringside. Things erupted at ringside as the Wyatt Sicks and the M.F.T.s brawled all around the ring. Sikoa exited the ring and took out Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy with Samoan Spikes.

As Sikoa entered the ring, he had Howdy at his mercy for the Spike, but Nikki Cross grabbed the Wyatt Lantern, which got Sikoa’s attention. This opened him up to a Sister Abigail from Howdy and the three.

After the match, however, as Howdy held the Wyatt Lantern in his hands, he was hit from behind by a the not-so-hidden blade of the Cutthroat by Tama Tonga. This allowed the M.F.T.s to retreat with the Lantern in toe.

Uncle Howdy & Erick Rowan def. Solo Sikoa & Talla Tonga via pinfall

This feud is still limping onwards even after what feels like an eternity of the Wyatts and M.F.T.s fighting over a lantern. Yes, a lantern is somehow being treated as important as, say, the literal title belts being held by the M.F.T.s at the moment as tag champs. Look, guys, I don’t have to tell you how much this feud stinks and how it’s affecting my enjoyment of anything involving these two factions, and probably the most generous thing I can say about tonight was that the actual match was not terrible. Then again, that’s essentially putting lipstick on a pig.

***************

– Kiana James & Giulia had some harsh words for Tiffany Stratton ahead of James’ battle against her later tonight.

Jade Cargill vs. Michin

Michin attacked Cargill from behind in the ring, as she struck with kicks and strikes before the match began proper. When the bell rang, Michin continued her assault on Cargill with a diving hurricanrana that sent the WWE Women’s Champion out to the ring. Michin kept the offensive going with a suicide dive to the outside. However, things changed as the two got back into to the ring as Cargill hit Michin with a pump kick. In ther corner, Cargill choked Michin by planting a boot, as she then struck her in the back with clubbing blows. Michin tried to fight from underneath, as she used a feint to send her out of the ring. Michin kicked Cargill from the apron and tried for a dive, but she was caught for the fallaway slam and we took a commercial break here.

We returned as Cargill hit Michin with a spinebuster for a near-fall. Cargill tried for a chokeslam, but Michin tried an escape. Cargill had her in position for Jaded, but again couldn’t pull the trigger after Michin countered it. A tornado DDT from Michin almost got the victory. Michin maintained her edge with a modified Sliced Bread, followed by Eat Defeat. However, Cargill rolled out of the ring to avoid eating a pin. As Michin attempted a rolling senton, Cargill dodged it and hit a powerbomb onto the timekeeper’s barricade.

In the ring, Cargill grabbed Michin and licked her face before a chokeslam and Jaded for the pin and win.

Jade Cargill def. Michin via pinfall

While I haven’t been too hot on this “feud” with Michin and Cargill, this match was actually rather decent. And while Cargill didn’t set the world on fire with her performance tonight, she did well enough here.

***************

After the match Cargill was interviewed, but the champ took the mic from Cathy Kelley to speak for herself. Cargill said that the whole world thinks she should be scared of one woman: Rhea Ripley. Cargill said that she didn’t see a challenger or a threat in Ripley, and that she wasn’t afraid of anything her whole life. Cargill promised to beat Ripley at WrestleMania and that she’d be always on top.

This brought out the aforementioned Ripley to confront Cargill. However, the WWE Women’s Champion thought better and backed off from Ripley, who took a mic of her own. Ripley said that Cargill wasn’t an icon of female empowerement, and that come WrestleMania, Cargill would be “her bitch”.

– Cody Rhodes chatted with Nick Aldis about his contract with Randy Orton and that everything was in order. After Aldis left, Sami Zayn and said that he didn’t want to make this a thing, but he just wanted to congratulate Rhodes for his win. The WWE Champion was short with Zayn asked what it is he wanted and if that thing he wanted was a shot at WWE Championship. Zayn said that he only talked with Randy Orton that way because he looked up to him, but he didn’t look up to Rhodes as he saw him as a “friend”.

Rhodes took exception and said that he spent the week tellling everyone how magical Zayn was as he again was wondering what this was all about. Rhodes said that maybe Zayn didn’t need to look up to him, when he could just look towards “this”, as he motioned at his Undisputed WWE Title.

As Rhodes left, Zayn again threw a fit as Aleister Black and Zelina laughed at his plight, perhaps carrying the cross of a familiar role left behind by others. Zayn threatened Black to stay away from him.

– Backstage, Michin was nursing her wounds with B-Fab, as Rhea Ripley tried to have a chat with her. While Michin seemed to want to talk, B-Fab apparently didn’t share that sentiment as she got Michin to leave with her.

– The Bella Twins made their way down to the ring and addressed the crowd. Nikki and Brie said that it felt good to be back on SmackDown, and that the reason they showed up here was that they were set to be next in line for the Women’s Tag Team Championships. As such, they’ll be at ringside to scout the competition for this match coming up next.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Irresistable Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss

Jax and Legend went after the challengers right away as the bell rang. Bliss and Flair regrouped and managed to send Jax and Legend out of the ring. Bliss tried to go for a diving cannonball on the apron, but Jax caught her and slammed her on the apron. Flair dropped Jax with a dive from the ring as Legend then took her out with a big boot. The Irresistable Forces stared down the Bella Twins at ringside as we took another commercial break, just a few minutes after we had one.

We returned from break as Bliss nearly got the tag to Flair, but Legend intercepted her successfully. As Bliss headed to the top rope, she was caught by Legend, but she rolled out of harm’s way to finally get Flair into the match. Flair unleashed a flurry of chops on Legend, followed by her cartwheel clothesline. As Jax tagged in, Flair tried for a move from the apron, but got caught into a Samoan Drop for the near-fall. Jax dragged Flair to the corner and looked for the Annihilator. Flair dodged at the last second and instead connected with her moonsault. Legend broke up the pin, as she fell victim to a tornado DDT from Bliss. Outside the ring, the scuffle between Jax and Flair ended with the Bella Twins caught in the crossfire.

Back in the ring, Flair connected with Natural Selection, as Bliss headed to the top rope for Twisted Bliss. Brie Bella stormed the ring and attacked the fallen Jax to cause a disqualification. After the match, the Irresistable Forces stood tall in the ensuing chaos.

Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. The Irresistable Forces via Disqualification

I can’t say the idea of the Bella Twins entering the WWE Women’s Tag Title scene, presumably at WrestleMania, is going to move the needle at all. Just nothing good can come from that. As far as this match was concerned, it was nothing special, and the DQ finish didn’t help matters either.

***************

– Jelly Roll had a chat with Damian Priest & R-Truth, who were getting ready for their tag match against Los Garza. Following that, Jelly met with his good pal Randy Orton, who recommended that Jelly give The Miz an ass whooping later on tonight during MizTV.

– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss argued with The Bella Twins, who once again stated that they had next.

Damian Priest & R-Truth vs. Los Garza (Angel & Berto)

Priest dropped Angel with a standing flapjack as Truth hit a spinning kick. Truth took too long playing to the crowd, which allowed Angel to take advantage with a kick, as Berto was tagged into the match. Angel hit the running boot on a prone Truth while Berto held him in position and added a kick to the back of his own.

In the ring, Truth found his way back into the match with a hurricanrana on Berto, followed by the running splash. Los Garza took advantage again as Angel pulled down the middle rope to cause Truth to spill to the outside. Angel and Berto then hit stereo dives on their foes as we got yet another commercial break.

This match resumed as Truth and Berto fought it out in the middle of the ring, with the latter getting the best of his foe. Angel tagged in aas he and Berto maintained control of Truth at this stage of the match. Angel hit a vertical suplex on Truth as he mocked him with a “you can’t see me” taunt. That was met with with a suplex-into-stunner move by Truth, as Priest finally entered with the hot tag. Priest held his own against Angel and Berto with strikes a-plenty for both. Priest held Berto and hit the Old School crossbody from the ropes. Priest then blasted Berto with his signature lariat. Angel broke up the pin as he got dispatched in short order. Razor’s Edge attempt was interrupted by Angel who blind tagged as he and Berto shelled Priest with high-flying offense.

Priest blocked a moonsault from Berto with boots to the face, as he held Angel in South of Heaven position. Angel escaped, but he couldn’t avoid the Razor’s Edge from Priest. Truth begged to be tagged in, as he and Priest hit their finishers — Attitude Adjustment and South of Heaven, respectively — on Los Garza for the win.

Damian Priest & R-Truth def. Los Garza via pinfall

I will say this, the Truth/Priest tag team is starting to somewhat grow on me, and it highlights Priest’s strength as a tag team guy, which is probably not a bad place for him for the time being.

***************

– Alex Shelley was seen hanging out with Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae and trying to motivate Johnny to be his old self again. He was met by his Motor City Machine Gun partner, Chris Sabin, who didn’t seem too happy with Shelley hanging around with the man who cost them the WWE Tag Team Titles. Sabin told Shelley that he got them a match next week against Fraxiom as he then challenged his partner to show how committed he was to the MCMGs.

– The Miz was set to go to the ring, but he was interrupted by the incomparable Danhausen, who hawked his new t-shirt to him. Danhausen again listed off his demands to Miz just before the interview with “Jelly Jam” but got blown off. In response, Danhausen told Miz that he was now cursed.

MizTV with Jelly Roll

As The Miz began his introduction, his mic suddenly cut off as he asked for another one that worked. Following that, Miz introduced his guest, Jelly Roll.

Jelly stated that there was no way he’d miss his boys Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes signing their WrestleMania contract tonight right here in Phoenix. Miz interrupted and tried to convince Jelly to take him on as a mentor, but only got a “no” in response from Mr. Jelly.

Jelly stated that Miz had a history of stabbing his partners in the back. Miz talked about how everyone discussed Jelly Roll’s comeback story, but not the guy who was behind it. Miz seemingly took credit for Jelly losing 250 pounds two years ago. Mr. Jelly said that Miz should be disgusted for taking credit for his successes and said he’d whoop his ass, fat or skinny.

Before things could escalate, Kit Wilson interrupted things and said that Miz should stop wasting time with Mr. Jelly. Wilson said that the problem wasn’t Miz’s mentoring, but the problem was Jelly himself. Jelly talked about how everyone secretly liked Wilson as he showed off his dance moves to him. Kit was upset about being supposedly mocked by Jelly, and that losing weight doesn’t make him a hero. It makes him nothing more than “fatphobic”. He then called Jelly “toxic” afterwards. Wilson shoved Jelly as things began to escalate. Jelly struck with a punch, but Wilson dodged as Miz got hit by it instead.

Yikes. That segment was a bit rouugh, wasn’t it? That it was anchored by the “usual” WWE sense of humor didn’t help at all. That it’s leading to a Miz vs. Jelly Roll match at WrestleMania 42 should put some butts in seats.

***************

– Apollo Crews and Ilja Dragunov were reacting to the segment we just saw as Carmelo Hayes went to have a chat with the latter. Dragunov said he was stuck between two extremes: ultimate confidence and self-doubt. Hayes asked him to lock in, unless there was something more to why he couldn’t fight him. Dragunov said that he couldn’t fight Hayes right now because he was fighting himself.

– As Tiffany Stratton was addressing Giulia and Kiana James, Chelsea Green rolled up and got promptly pushed away just as Stratton was on her way to the ring for her match with James.

– Kit Wilson stood backstage with The Miz and said he’d go to Nick Aldis and possibly seek a match against Jelly Roll. Danhausen appeared again and asked if Miz got his teeth knocked out by “Jimmy Jam” and that he could’ve taken the fight to him if he was out there. Danhausen then reminded Miz that ther was only one way to reverse the curse, as he then vanished.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James (w/ Giulia)

Stratton and James started off with a bit of chain wrestling before the latter used her agility to get ahead with an early pinfall attempt. James responded by planting Stratton’s face on the turnbuckle. That momentary advantage was snuffed out as Stratton dodged a James attack. On the apron, James hit a Dealbreaker on Stratton, which allowed her to gain advantage as she then threw Stratton into the barricade. That led us to, of course, a commercial break.

As we returned from break, Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre appeared at ringside while Stratton connected with a cartwheel cutter inside the ring for a near-fall. James escaped a move from Stratton, as she countered the Alabama Slam into a driver of her own. James went for a powerbomb, but Stratton countered with the rolling senton and was going to hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Giulia pulled James out of the ring, so Stratton hit a dive on both James and Giulia at ringside. In the chaos, the wheelchair-bound Green tried to go after Stratton, but Giulia got in the way. At the end of it, Stratton avoided a big boot from James, as she hit Giulia instead, who then fell onto Green and Fyre.

Back in the ring, Stratton finished James off with the rolling senton and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

Tiffany Stratton def. Kiana James via pinfall

This was a fine match up until the weird shenanigans-filled ending that kinda took me out of the whole thing. It does seem like we’re potentially getting a multi-woman feud for the Women’s U.S. Championship at WrestleMania when all is said and done.

***************

Next Week on SmackDown

  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Irresistable Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend) vs. Nikki & Brie Bella
  • Kit Wilson calls out Jelly Roll

– As Trick Williams was getting ready to face Jacob Fatu, Sami Zayn showed up to call him as someone who can’t back up his big talk. Williams didn’t take too kindly and said that if he didn’t have a match up next, he’d drop Zayn where he stood.

Jacob Fatu vs. Trick Williams

Fatu and Williams locked up before they traded strikes in the corner. Williams held momentum with chops to Fatu’s chest, as he then athletically avoided a running strike into the corner. Fatu seemed to get strength by headbutting the top turnbuckle as he then hit his spinning elbow on Williams and then struck him with repeated headbutts in the corner. Williams tried to fight back with a neckbreaker, but Fatu withstood the damage and then went after him with a clothesline and an acrobatic moonsault. Fatu then clotheslined Williams out of the ring as we took a timeout here.

This match returned from the break as Fatu dropped Williams with a jump-up Whisper in the Wind for the two-count. Williams recovered and hit the spinning pump kick on Fatu followed by the jumping neckbreaker for another two-count. Williams beckoned Fatu to get up but he missed with the axe kick. He made no mistake with the flapjack, however as Williams kipped up to his feet. Willams had command with a stytlish uranage, but that still wasn’t enough to put Fatu away.

Williams stalked Fatu for the Trickshot knee, but ended up in the throes of a pop-up Samoan Drop. Fatu then hit his running hip attack in the corner as he then headed up top for the Swanton Bomb. One, two… NO! Fatu looked to be going in for the kill, but Williams rolled out of the ring. Meanwhile, outside the ring, Drew McIntyre attacked Fatu while the referee was checking up on Trick Williams. As McIntyre threw Fatu back in the ring, Williams hit him with two Trickshot knees and that’s it, over.

After the match, McIntyre took out Fatu with a Claymore Kick.

Trick Williams def. Jacob Fatu via pinfall

I quite enjoyed this one, even if the Drew McIntyre intereference finish was something everyone could see coming. Trick getting wins over top names shows how much of a big deal he’s being seen on SmackDown and he should comfortably fit into the world title picture post-WrestleMania.

***************

Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton WrestleMania contract signing

SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was in the ring as he addressed Drew McIntyre’s actions moments ago. He made it official and booked McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu for next week’s show. With that order of business out of the way, Aldis then introduced both Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes for the contract signing for their WrestleMania 42 title match.

While Orton got a loud set of cheers from the crowd, the reaction was a bit more mixed for the Undisputed WWE Champion. Before the contract signing began, Rhodes and Orton shared a respectful hug between friends as the former took to the mic first.

“Phoenix, sounds like I know what you want to talk about,” Rhodes said as he recounted his beginnings with Orton starting in 2007. He talked about how how Orton went on to become a WrestleMania main eventer and that he left. Then once he returned, his brother didn’t come with him, there was no “Codyverse”, but Orton was there. Rhodes said that he wasn’t Orton’s brother or a son, but he was always proud to be his boy as he signed the WrestleMania match contract.

Orton took a look at the contract and didn’t seem to know how to react as he told that he didn’t think that Rhodes understood how much Orton needed the title. Drew McIntyre was supposed to be here facing him. Rhodes interrupted Orton said that knew that we’d get the best version of Randy Orton at WrestleMania when the bell rings. After the main event when the last bell rings, Rhodes said that he’d always love Orton.

As the two shared a hug, Orton bashed Rhodes’ head against the table and then kicked him in the groin, much to the protestations of the commentary team. Orton busted Rhodes open with the steel steps as he then pushed Nick Aldis down. With the announce table cleared, Orton continued his attack on the Champion as the fans cheered on this heinous attack.

Orton lined up Rhodes’ head against the bottom half of the steel steps which was set up against the commentary table as the vanguard of referees and road agents showed up. Jelly Roll tried to talk some sense into Orton, but he pushed him down. As Orton backed away, everyone checked up on the bloodied Rhodes before Orton ran down with a chair and smashed against him. Orton rolled back into the ring and sat on a chair and looked at the Undisputed WWE Title.

***************

Well, that was an effective way to intensify the feud by giving us an unhinged heel Randy Orton, but… as you probably noticed, the crowd cheering on as brave babyface Cody Rhodes is beaten down to an inch of his life is making this a bit of an uphill battle on WWE’s part. The intent was to sell this as a brutal betrayal by a friend, but it’s slightly undercut when fans, who are seemingly tired of Cody hovering around the title picture again (whether or not they’re justified is up for you to decide) are happily cheering his brains getting blasted. That said, I did like this closing segment despite the weird crowd dynamic.

As far as the rest of tonight’s SmackDown is concerned, it was mediocre, save for the main event match and contract signing. The Wyatts/M.F.T.s feud continues to be a snore that persists even against all logic, and the other feuds aren’t really inspiring anything whatsoever. With WrestleMania in 5 weeks time, and slow ticket sales amidst a middling build towards April 18 and 19th, time is quickly running out for Paul Levesque and company to convince fans, lapsed or otherwise, to tune in to Mania this year. Shows like tonight’s SmackDown doesn’t inspire much hope that they can do that.

Jelly Roll appearance on Miz TV set for WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Josh Nason

Fans now know what popular musician Jelly Roll will be doing on Friday’s WWE SmackDown from Phoenix, Arizona.

While it was known last week he would be on the show, it was revealed by The Miz on X Thursday that Jelly Roll will be on Miz TV. It’s unknown what he will be talking about, but there is increased speculation he will be part of next month’s WWE WrestleMania 42 in some form, perhaps in a return to the ring.

He made his debut alongside Randy Orton at last August’s SummerSlam, losing to Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre. Afterward, he said he wanted to return.

The segment joins the previously announced WrestleMania contract signing between WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, plus WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill against Mia Yim in a non-title match.

Current WWE SmackDown lineup | This Friday | Phoenix, Arizona

  • Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton sign their WrestleMania 42 contract
  • Jelly Roll appears on Miz TV
  • WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill vs. Mia Yim in a non-title match

WWE SmackDown ratings down for Elimination Chamber fallout episode

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.19 million viewers on USA Network, down 13.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total the show has done on USA since January 23, which was prior to when Nielsen adjusted the way it determines ratings using the Big Data + Panel measurement system.

The show featured the fallout from Elimination Chamber and included a WWE Championship change with Cody Rhodes defeating Drew McIntyre. It drew a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demo, which is down 20.6 percent from last week and is also the lowest rating SmackDown has done in that category on USA since the January 23 episode.

The show had tougher-than-usual sports competition, going head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that topped the cable charts with a 0.40 rating in the 18-49 demo and nearly 1.7 million viewers overall. SmackDown was also up against Fox’s coverage of the World Baseball Classic which averaged nearly 2.8 million viewers and a 0.72 rating in 18-49.

As compared to the same week in 2025, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 31.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 48.1 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 3.8 percent in viewers but down 3.6 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings —

Date18-49Total viewers
12/26/20250.271,138,000
1/2/20260.281,175,000
1/9/20260.26990,000
1/16/20260.21968,000
1/23/20260.22943,000
1/30/20260.291,260,000
2/6/20260.351,459,000
2/13/20260.261,042,000
2/20/20260.291,113,000
2/27/20260.341,379,000
3/6/20260.271,190,000
10 week average0.281,146,700

Two new number one contenders crowned on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The number one contenders for both the WWE and Women’s Tag Team titles were determined on SmackDown.

After Giulia & Kiana James and Alexa Bliss & Charlotte both came out on Friday to confront new champions the Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend), Nick Aldis arrived and made an impromptu number one contender’s match between the first two teams. Flair and Bliss emerged victorious after Flair hit the natural selection on Giulia, giving them the next shot against Jax and Legend.

The Irresistible Forces defeated Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY on last week’s SmackDown to win the titles for the first time as a team. During their celebration backstage, they announced that they would have an additional celebration on this week’s show.

For the men, Damian Priest and R-Truth emerged as the new number one contenders for the titles, winning a Tag Team Turmoil match. The Motor City Machine Guns were first eliminated by Fraxiom, who then were eliminated by Los Garza. The Wyatt Sicks were in next, but shockingly lost after Tama Tonga interrupted the match, allowing Berto to roll up Dexter Lumis for the win. Finally Priest & Truth entered and scored the victory over Los Garza to become the new number one contenders, earning a future title match against the MFTs.

Cody Rhodes wins WWE Championship, WrestleMania 42 title match set

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cody Rhodes is now a three-time WWE Champion, and his WrestleMania 42 match is set.

Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre to win the title in the main event of Friday’s SmackDown. After an initial ref bump, Rhodes brought in a second referee for a nearfall. But after Rhodes kicked out of one of McIntyre’s nearfalls, the now former champion laid out the second referee with a headbutt. McIntyre left the ring and re-entered with a steel chair but as he went to use it, Jacob Fatu emerged and yanked the chair away. The brief distraction allowed Rhodes to recover, hit a super cutter, then pinned McIntyre after a crossroads.

With Rhodes’ win, it is now official that he will be defending the title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 next month. It was announced prior to the main event that a contract signing would take place on next week’s SmackDown.

Orton reacted to the news on social media with a video of himself watching Rhodes win the title.

The sudden title match was made over the weekend after McIntyre interfered yet again in Rhodes’ affairs by costing him a Elimination Chamber victory. An angry Nick Aldis entered the post-show panel area and announced the title match for Friday, which led to a shouting match between himself and McIntyre.

McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes in a Three Stages of Hell match on the January 9 edition of SmackDown to win the title. Rhodes lost after a returning Fatu entered the steel cage and started to brawl with McIntyre. When Rhodes attempted to intervene, Fatu fought him as McIntyre escaped from the cage.