Smackdown Review – 03.13.26

By Niz on 14 March 2026

Smackdown comes to the USA and Netflix airwaves from the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ one week after a world title change. The announcing team for tonight’s broadcast are Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett on match calls and analysis, Mark Nash on ring introductions, and Cathy Kelley on backstage interviews and breaking news segments. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever…..TOGETHER

Highlights are shown of Cody Rhodes defeating Drew McIntyre for the WWE Men’s Undisputed Championship during last week’s main event. Here’s Cody Rhodes having a quick chat with Jelly Roll, followed by JR’s ex-tag partner Randy Orton entering the building. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis has the contract that Rhodes and Orton will sign later, and he’s called out by a steaming Drew McIntyre. McIntyre comes to the ring and talks about how Rhodes stole the title last week, and he wants Aldis in the ring right now to make things right. Aldis emerges and says definitively that there is nothing to make right, while pointing out that McIntyre head-butted Dan Engler during the match. Aldis says that McIntyre should be looking at his own actions, and McIntyre points out that Jacob Fatu got involved so that the “corporate golden boy” Rhodes could get his title back. Aldis says he understands now why McIntyre was so adamant about not giving a rematch to Rhodes because the first time he got one, he beat McIntyre. McIntyre goes into the ring and says that this is [a word redacted by the censors] and Aldis better make it right. Here’s Jacob Fatu out from the back with a mic. Fatu says that McIntyre wouldn’t have been champion without Fatu’s interference in Germany, and he fixed it last week to make sure McIntyre is no longer holding the title. Fatu says it’s not about Aldis or Rhodes, it’s time to keep it 100 and make sure to understand that it was Fatu who screwed McIntyre. McIntyre says he’s done with all of it and tells Aldis that he quits. McIntyre makes a very quick exit and flips off the crowd while leaving.

Tessitore and Barrett run down the card for tonight’s show. Here’s Solo Sikoa with THE LANTERN while flanked by the MFT’s. Sikoa says he and Talla Tonga will take care of Rowan and Howdy tonight, and tells Tama Tonga to guard THE LANTERN with his life because without it, the Wyatts are nothing. The MFT’s leave and here’s Shinsuke Nakamura to whisper to Tonga about being his own man. Sikoa re-emerges and tells Nakamura to stay the hell away from the family before he gets hurt. Sikoa and Tonga leave.

“Shatter” plays as the Fireflies emerge from the crowd, and The Wyatt Sicks make their entrance. We go to commercials.

Nick Aldis and Jacob Fatu are arguing about Drew McIntyre, and here’s Trick Williams to come in to annoy everybody over Fatu using the word WHOOP. Aldis tells everyone to chill out, and Fatu leaves after chewing out Trick. Aldis says if Trick wants to talk about disrespect, he can have Fatu tonight, and Trick is not a fan of that decision. Aldis says one guy has already quit tonight and if Trick doesn’t like that decision, he’s happy to make it two. Aldis leaves as apparently Fatu-Trick is ON.

Solo Sikoa and Talla Tonga vs Uncle Howdy and Erick Rowan

The MFT’s are out en masse, as are the Sicks. It’s Tonga and Rowan to start and they go right to a “who can truck who” battle before Tonga has had enough of it and drops Rowan with a couple of rights. Sikoa tags in and smashes Rowan with a headbutt. Rowan trucks Sikoa and tags in Howdy. Howdy bullies Sikoa to a corner and puts the boots to him before waffling Sikoa with a lariat. Sikoa fires up with a thrust to Howdy’s neck before tagging in Tonga. Tonga drags Howdy to the floor and sends him head-first into the barricade, and we go to commercials.

Tonga yanks Howdy up when the show returns. Howdy gets smashed with a big right chop and then trucked in a corner by a Tonga lariat. Tonga hits a running Samoan Drop and covers Howdy for two. Sikoa tags in and wants the Sister Abigail but Howdy slips out and drops Sikoa with a back suplex. Rowan and Tonga get tags and Rowan goes to work with rights and a short DDT. Rowan smashes Tonga with a big elbow in the corner but runs into a high boot when he charges. Tonga flies out and gets hit by a Rowan cross-body and a second-rope spinning elbow. Rowan’s cover gets two. Rowan yanks Tonga up but Sikoa gets a blind tag and waffles Rowan with a kick. Sikoa ascends and meets Rowan’s knees on the way down. Howdy tags in and gets smashed by a Sikoa Samoan Spike. Rowan breaks up Sikoa’s cover at two. Tonga and Rowan crush each other on the floor and here’s Gacy and Lumis over to mix it up with Mateo and Tonga Loa. Tama Tonga gets into it with Gacy, and Sikoa flies out to hit a spike on Gacy and Lumis. Sikoa goes back in and he sees Nikki Cross taking THE LANTERN. She scampers away and as Sikoa is involved with that, he turns and runs right into a Sister Abigail from Howdy. Howdy covers and gets three.

A hoss tag match to open the show? That’s okay with me. The pace was glacial compared with most Smackdown tag matches these days but I didn’t mind. Howdy played Ricky Morton from the first act through the break, and then we went to the finishing portion of things which was about what you’d expect. For a feud over a LANTERN, this thing just keeps on going, which is really what’s hurting the drama here. No one gives two craps about THE LANTERN, they should be caring about re-gaining their tag titles, but here we are. This was fine but nothing you have to seek out. 2.5*

Winners – The Wyatt Sicks (Howdy Sister Abigail on Sikoa)

Post-match sees Tama Tonga leap into the ring to steal THE LANTERN back as the MFT’s stagger up the aisle.

Here’s Damian Priest and R-Truth watching all of this unfold backstage, as they are the number one contenders now for the MFT’s tag titles after winning the tag gauntlet on last week’s show. Truth thinks that the MFT’s are the Judgement Day, and Priest corrects him and says they’ll win the titles when they face them. Los Garza come up to say they did all the hard work to get Priest and Truth to the title shots, and Priest says everyone is looking fresh so let’s have a match TONIGHT.

WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill makes her entrance as we go to commercials.

Here’s Kiana James and WWE Women’s US Champion Giulia to run down Tiffany Stratton, as James says she’ll prove that Tiffy Time is expired TONIGHT.

Michin vs WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill

This is non-title, and comes about because Cargill “intentionally” injured Michin during the Holiday tour in December. Michin attacks prior to the bell and order is restored before the bell rings. Michin works Cargill over in a corner and then hits her with a high boot. Michin ascends and snaps off a rana that sends Cargill to the floor. Michin hits a tope suicida that sends Cargill into the barricade, and Michin fires her back in the ring. Cargill has had enough of that and smashes Michin with a pump kick. Cargill hits a body slam and puts the boots to Michin. Cargill works Michin over in a corner and slams her boot across Michin’s jaw. Cargill clubbers away and Michin fires up with some rights. Cargill spills to the floor off a charge, and Michin follows with a big running kick from the apron. Michin gets caught trying a cross-body and Cargill smashes her with a fall-away slam on the floor as we go to commercials.

Cargill plants Michin with a spinebuster that gets two when the show returns. Michin slips out of a Jaded attempt and hits a jawbreaker on Cargill. Michin snaps off a tornado DDT that gets two. Michin hits a drop Pele kick and a Sliced Bread before hitting Eat Defeat. Cargill rolls to the floor and Michin misses a rolling senton tackle from the apron as Cargill walked away Samoa Joe-style. Cargill springs up to powerbomb Michin on the barricade before rolling Michin back in. Cargill LICKS MICHIN’S FACE and then chokeslams her. Cargill hits Jaded and covers Michin for three.

I wish there was another mid-card woman babyface on the Smackdown roster because as much as Michin tries, she’s just a goober who constantly loses while pretending she’s a bad-ass. Jade barely broke a sweat here but for a two segment match, she had to give Michin something and she did. I don’t know if the face-licking thing is a rib or something but it was weird. Anyway, this just took up time as most of Smackdown does these days. 2*

Winner – Jade Cargill (Jaded)

Post-match sees Cathy Kelley jump in the ring for a chat with Cargill. Cargill snatches the mic from Kelley and tells the crowd that what just happens is when wrestlers start believing their own hype. Cargill says that the world is telling her to be scared of Rhea Ripley, and Cargill says she doesn’t see a challenger or threat, and she’s not afraid of Ripley at all. Cargill says she’s going to beat Ripley’s ass at Wrestlemania and show her why she’s always on top. Here’s Rhea Ripley out to a huge pop to bark at Cargill as she walks down the aisle. Ripley stares Cargill down and puts the stink-mouth on her, so Cargill slips out to the floor and backs off. Ripley picks up the mic and says Cargill was fine running her mouth but now she’s just running. Ripley says that after Wrestlemania Cargill will be HER bitch. There’s more verbals as Cargill retreats.

Nick Aldis ends a phone call and here’s WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes to wonder what’s going on with Drew McIntyre. Aldis says not to worry about that and to just focus on the contract signing later. Aldis leaves after Rhodes agrees, and here’s Sami Zayn making an entrance into the scene. Zayn says he doesn’t want to make it a thing, he just wants to say congratulations on winning the title and he’ll be rooting for Rhodes at Wrestlemania. Rhodes thanks him but knows that he said the same thing to Randy Orton and if Zayn is angling for a post-WM title shot, they can go to Aldis right now and make it happen. Zayn fires up and says that Orton is one-of-one and we’ll never see anyone like him again. Zayn says he looks up to Orton but he doesn’t look up to Rhodes because they’re friends and equals. Zayn says Rhodes is the champ and in the main event again, but in Zayn’s eyes they’re equals. Rhodes says he spent the whole week talking about how much he looks up to and is inspired by Zayn. Rhodes leaves and here’s Aleister Black and Zelina to mention that maybe chasing the world title isn’t meant for Zayn, who tells Black to stay far far away from him. We go to commercials.

Here’s Michin being consoled by B-Fab backstage when Rhea Ripley joins the scene. Michin doesn’t want Ripley’s “pity party” and B-Fab apologizes and says Michin just needs a second before they make their exit.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs The Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax and Lash Legend)

Prior to the match, here’s The Bella Twins out and in the ring. They don’t want to wish Flair and Bliss luck tonight because no matter who wins tonight, they are next in line for the titles? (OH COME ON. HOW? WHAT THE SHIT IS THAT LOGIC? They haven’t actually wrestled together as a team since they’ve been back as far as I’m aware. I mean, look, I know it’s WM season and all actual logic goes out the window but MY GOD STAY AWAY.) They’ll be at ringside to keep an eye on their competition. We go to commercials.

Mark Nash does in-ring introductions and it will be a full on attack from Legend and Jax after the bell. Legend bullies Flair around while Jax smashes Bliss. Bliss and Flair fire up and send Jax to the floor before hitting a double dropkick on a charging Legend. Bliss tries her rolling tackle from the apron and Jax catches her and drops Bliss face-first on the apron. Flair tries a cross-body that connects on Jax but turns right into a pump kick from Legend. Legend and Jax put the stink-mouth on the Bellas as we go to commercials.

Bliss has been getting her ass handed to her throughout the break and she can’t make a tag when the show returns. Bliss tries another cross-body but gets caught by Legend again. Bliss slips out and rolls to Flair to finally get the tag. Flair ascends and hits a cross-body on Legend and a big boot on Jax. Flair chops away at Legend and then hits her walkover clothesline. Flair flips to the apron and Jax tags in to get shouldered by Flair. Jax shakes that off and yanks Flair up for a quick Samoan Drop that gets two. Jax yanks Flair to a corner but Flair slips away from the Annihilator attempt. Flair ascends and hits her moonsault that gets two as Legend breaks up the cover. Bliss flies in to hit a DDT on Legend and Jax and Flair go to the floor. The battle around and Jax pulls Nikki Bella into a Flair pump kick. Jax pie-faces Brie to the floor before tossing Flair back in. Flair hits a couple of kicks on Jax and then plants her with Natural Selection. Bliss gets the tag and ascends and here’s Brie in to attack Jax. The ref calls for the DQ.

So after all this time with RHIYO and the Kabukis and Charlexa and Jax/Legend, it’s the Bellas who are just going to sneak into a title match at Wrestlemania. I could write a whole bunch about this match and the subsequent horrendous finish but I just don’t have it in me. Fuck this finish. The match itself was pretty decent as the actual working competitors have good chemistry and could put on a fine match at WM, but here we are because Nikki and Brie can’t have actual careers outside of wrestling. 1.5* just for the finish, the match itself was heading towards 3 stars before the idiot twins got involved.

Post-match sees Legend and Jax just utterly destroy both Bellas and stand tall as everyone else is down.

Jelly Roll is chatting with R-Truth backstage, who calls him “Sushi Roll” as Damian Priest comes to collect him. Randy Orton walks into the scene to hearty congratulations from JR about winning the Chamber and going to the main event. Orton congratulates JR on winning three Grammys, and Orton tells JR to whip Miz’s ass on MizTV if he starts running his mouth.

Priest and Truth make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Flair and Bliss argue with the Bellas backstage and the Bellas say thanks to Nick Aldis, they’re up next. I hope Flair and Bliss utterly wreck them during that match.

Los Garza vs R-Truth and Damian Priest

Los Garza attack at the bell and beat Priest down after sending Truth to the floor. Priest rises up and clotheslines both of them down before beating the crap out of both of them in a corner. Truth tags in and Priest plants Angel with a facebuster. Truth follows with an axe kick but Angel fires up with a foot stomp and a lariat to send Truth to the mat. Angel goes to ground and pound before dragging Truth to the ropes. Berto tags in and Angel wallops Truth with a running knee. Berto slides in and his cover gets two. Berto goes to ground and pound but Truth responds with a rana and a running splash. Angel yanks on the ropes to send Truth to the floor. Priest gets knocked to the floor and Angel and Berto ascend to hit simultaneous moonsaults as we go to commercials.

Berto and Truth are slugging it out when the show returns. Berto sends Priest off the apron and Angel gets a blind tag. Angel hits a reverse thrust kick and covers Truth for two. Angel yanks Truth up and plants him with a snap suplex that gets two. Angel mocks Truth’s love of John Cena and Truth plants him with a jawbreaker in response. Berto gets a tag and Truth sends him and a charging Angel to the floor before tagging in an anxious Priest. Priest works over the Garzas and yanks Berto’s arm so he can rope-walk. Priest hits a cross-body off the rope walk and then wallops Berto with a lariat. Angel breaks up the cover at two. Priest uppercuts Angel away and wants the Razor’s Edge, but Berto slips off as Angel gets a tag. Berto hits a springboard elbow and Angel follows with a moonsault on Priest that gets a LONG two. Angel positions Priest and Berto tags in. Berto’s dive meets Priest’s boots and then Angel charges in to get goozled. Angel slips away from that and gets yanked right into the Razor’s Edge. Truth tags in and he and Priest hit a simultaneous Attitude Adjustment and South of Heaven before covering and getting three.

Angel and Berto are a good team who deserve better than being low-card jobbers but there isn’t room for everyone at the top when a makeshift team of Priest and Truth can get a title shot, I guess. Everything has to be two segments now to flesh out these three hour shows and man, it doesn’t help anyone because it makes the number one contenders look like goobers while the jobbers put up a good fight and just job again. The goddamn Bellas have ruined my mood, in case you couldn’t tell. This was fine but again, nothing you need to find on youtube or anything. 2.25*

Winners – Priest/Truth (AA and South of Heaven)

Here’s Sad John Wrestling with Candice LeRae and Alex Shelley. Shelley tries to rouse Gargano and LeRae appears to be at her wits end. Shelley suggests going back to their roots and LeRae suggests Johnny Wrestling make a return. LeRae wheels Gargano away and here’s a grumpy Chris Sabin to wonder why Shelley is wasting his time on this (From your lips,Chris…). Sabin wants to know if Shelley is still committed to the team because they have a match with FrAxiom next week. Shelley says he is as Sabin leaves in a huff.

Here’s Danhausen putting a t-shirt on his mentorhausen The Miz. Danhausen wants Miz to wear it during MizTV with JellyJam. Danhausen suggests his own talk show segment and Miz thinks that’s dumb, so Danhausen CURSES Miz and disappears. We go to commercials.

It’s time for MizTV and the mic cuts out during his introduction because of course. Miz introduces Jelly Roll who comes out to “Who’s Your Daddy?”. I wish Posty was here instead but maybe he knows better than to take bumps. JR and Miz hug it out and Miz wants to know what brings JR to Smackdown. JR says he wasn’t going to miss two of his friends signing their contract tonight in Phoenix. Miz says he sees all the good things in JR in the ring, and Miz offers his services as JR’s mentor for future competition. JR simply says “No”. JR says he loves Miz but he has a history of stabbing partners in the back. Miz stands and reminds JR about how he helped him at SummerSlam two years ago and in that moment he made Jelly Roll see that he needed to change his life. JR talks about losing 250 pounds and wants to know how Miz can take credit for JR changing his life and says “Mike” should be careful about his remarks. Miz says he liked him better when he was fat, and JR says he’ll whip Miz’s ass. Here’s Kit Wilson out to his awesome entrance theme to tell Miz to stop wasting his time because the problem is Jelly Roll. JR says he likes Kit Wilson but this is getting weird because everyone sort of secretly likes him. JR does the Kit Wilson dance and Wilson says it’s the face tattoos and criminal charges and mocking while he’s trying to have a serious conversation that bother him. Wilson says JR loses 300 pounds and expects to be treated like hero but he’s actually FAT-PHOBIC. Wilson says JR sickens him and doesn’t inspire anyone by promoting an unhealthy standard of beauty. Wilson calls him TOXIC and shoves JR away, and Miz holds Wilson back from further damage. JR comes in with a right and Wilson ducks it as Miz eats the full brunt of it. Wilson bails as JR mocks his dance once again, before Wilson yanks Miz out of the ring.

Here’s Apollo Crews and Ilja Dragunov watching all that unfold backstage before WWE Men’s US Champion Carmelo Hayes joins the scene. Crews leaves as they chuckle over the Miz, and Hayes mentions that he heard Dragunov talking about his mom and thinks that maybe the Open Challenge is too much for Dragunov. Dragunov says he’s stuck between fighting and the ultimate self-doubt and he doesn’t know a second of peace. Hayes puts over Dragunov giving him an opportunity to win the title, and Dragunov says he can’t fight Hayes without fighting himself.

Here’s Tiffany Stratton yelling about Giulia hiding behind Kiana James as Chelsea Green rolls by in her wheelchair mocking Stratton. Stratton pushes Green away as Alba Fyre flies in behind her to chase down Green. Stratton makes her entrance as we go to commercials.

That was a lot of yap. My god. The CONTENT on this show tonight is just….A LOT.

Vanessa Hudgens is in the crowd with the special Wrestlemania title belt ON SALE AT WWESHOP DOT COM RIGHT NOW. Here’s Mark Kerr as well and the Smashing Machine gets a good pop as Tessitore mentions Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal of Kerr. Here’s Kit Wilson and a dazed Miz rumbling around backstage, and Wilson promises to talk to Nick Aldis about a match. Wilson leaves and here’s Danhausen with a jar of teeth, and he offers Miz one to potentially replace any that Jelly Roll knocked out. Danhausen says he could have defended Miz’s honor and says there’s only one thing he has to do to reverse the curse. Danhausen disappears as Miz says there’s no curse. THERE’S A CURSE MICHAEL!

Tiffany Stratton vs Kiana James

James is out with Giulia in tow. There’s some Stratton acrobatics to start and she grabs a roll up for two. James fires up with a knee and then sends Stratton face-first into a turnbuckle a few times. Stratton blocks the last one and sends James in face first. Stratton does some more gymnastics and then trips James onto the second rope. Stratton goes to the apron and whacks James with a shoulder, but James fires up with a Dealbreaker that sends Stratton to the floor. James smashes Stratton into the apron and then fires her into the barricade as we go to commercials.

They’re slugging it out mid-ring as Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre come to ringside when the show returns. Stratton trucks James and then hits her back handspring elbow. Stratton hits a jawbreaker and covers James for two. Stratton hoists James who slips off but runs right into a Stratton big boot. James fires up with a Falcon Arrow and covers Stratton for two. James and Stratton tussle and Stratton hits a rolling senton but Giulia yanks James to the floor before Stratton can ascend. Stratton hits a tope suicida and this brings Green out of her wheelchair to argue with Giulia. There’s a huge bit of miscommunication as Giulia goes to the apron to hold Stratton, but Stratton ducks James high boot which connects with Giulia who goes flying onto Green and Fyre. Stratton hits another rolling senton and finishes with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Stratton’s cover gets three.

Well, they overbooked the shit out of that for some reason. I guess we’re getting a three-way for Giulia’s title at WM if Green is able to go? It’s hard to tell whether this is just stuff to get to Wrestlemania or a preview of what the actual match will be. Anyway, this was fine but I stress to you, nothing you need to seek out on youtube unless you’re a Stratton or James completionist. Seek help if you are. 2.5*

Winner – Tiffany Stratton (Prettiest Moonsault Ever)

Tessitore and Barrett run down the card for next week in Raleigh, NC. Trick Wilson is backstage and is caught by Cathy Kelley, and Trick tells Kelley that Nick Aldis had no business making this match tonight. Trick says he’s going to smack the boogeyman out of Fatu’s ass, and here’s Sami Zayn to step in and bark about Trick’s big talk. Zayn runs down Trick’s recent run of results and says Trick can’t back up his talk. Zayn says Trick is embarrassed and he should be. Trick says Zayn is lucky he’s got a match tonight or he’d drop Zayn. Zayn says he’s at Smackdown every week and is easy to find.

Jacob Fatu makes his entrance to “Samoan Destroyer” as we go to commercials (I LOVE Fatu’s entrance theme, for the record).

Jacob Fatu vs Trick Williams

This is a PLE-level match happening on a Smackdown with no advance hype, for the record. They start firing bombs at each other and Fatu waffles Trick with a headbutt. Trick fires up with some clubbering rights and some chops. Trick slips a charge and decides to make the stupid decision of slamming Fatu’s SAMOAN HEAD into a top turnbuckle. Fatu shows Trick just how bad a move that is and then starts clobbering Trick with rights and kicks before trucking him. Fatu mounts Trick and drops ten headbutts that stagger Trick. Trick fires up with a swinging neckbreaker but that has no effect either. Fatu hits a clothesline and a running senton before smashing Trick with a running moonsault. Trick gets dumped to the floor and we go to commercials.

Fatu is fighting his way out of a rear chinlock when the show returns. Fatu runs Trick into a corner but eats an elbow when he charges. Fatu shakes that off and ascends for a rolling tackle that gets two. Fatu works Trick over in a corner but when he tries a Hip Attack he runs right into a Trick pump kick. Trick follows with a neckbreaker and gets two. Trick misses a leg lariat and eats a thrust uppercut. Trick shakes that off and smashes Fatu with a Flapjack and nips up to a “Whoop That Trick” chant. Trick yanks Fatu up for a uranage and covers him for two. Trick lowers the knee pad and runs right into a Fatu superkick and pop-up Samoan Drop. Fatu hits a Hip Attack and ascends for a swanton. Fatu’s cover gets a LONG two. Fatu ascends again but Trick rolls to the floor. Fatu chases after and smashes Trick with a shoulder before dumping Trick back in. Drew McIntyre flies in from out of nowhere and runs Fatu face-first into a ring post. McIntyre tosses Fatu back in where he’s met by an immediate Trick Shot. Trick hits a second Trick Shot and covers Fatu for three.

This match single-handedly saved this show from being a complete dumpster fire even with the McIntyre stuff. How they gave this away with no advance is beyond me but here we are. These two guys deserve a MUCH bigger showcase than a semi-main to a contract signing. Regardless, this is the one match from this show that you should seek out when it shows up (there’s only a highlights package as of this review’s writing). 4.25*

Winner – Trick Williams (Trick Shot x 2)

Post-match sees McIntyre enter the ring to stand over the fallen Fatu. McIntyre lines him up and waffles a staggering Fatu with a Claymore to a chorus of boos. McIntyre gives the thumbs down signal and Tessitore starts talking up the contract signing. We go to commercials.

Jelly Roll is now ringside for the contract signing. Nick Aldis says there’s one thing to handle and says as a welcome back to Drew McIntyre he’ll get Jacob Fatu one-on-one next week on Smackdown. Aldis brings out Randy Orton first, and “Voices” hits to it’s normal huge pop. Orton is all in black but he stops to slap a few hands along the way. Orton stares at the Wrestlemania sign as he hits his signature corner pose. “Kingdom” hits to a smattering of boos, but it quickly turns into Rhodes’s typical welcome and sing-along. Rhodes takes off his suit jacket to reveal a crisp white dress shirt and suspenders before entering the ring. Orton does the “WHOA-OH” pose and claps for Rhodes as he’s posing in a corner. They shake hands and hug it out before Rhodes hugs Aldis as well. SUCH GOOD FRIENDS THESE GUYS ARE. Rhodes gives Orton some propers before sitting down, and Orton sits next to him at the table. Rhodes mentions that his first match in WWE was against Orton and talks about Orton winning the Rumble and giving “Stu” crap about his pyro before going to main event Wrestlemania. Rhodes talks about returning and reminds Orton that he had no Cody-verse as Dustin wasn’t with him and Brandi stayed at home with the kids. Rhodes says he’s always been proud to be Orton’s “boy” before signing the contract. Orton takes the pen and puts it down. Orton grabs a mic and goes to a corner before turning back to say that Rhodes doesn’t understand that Orton needs Wrestlemania (while pointing at the sign). Orton says it was supposed to be McIntyre and Rhodes says he knows Orton is hearing the voices in his head. Rhodes says he’s happy that he’s getting the Legend Killer, the youngest champ in WWE history, the man that JBL said that if you built a wrestler from the ground up it would be Orton. Rhodes says that when the last bell rings, he’ll still always love Orton.

Orton signs the contract and shakes Rhodes hand, but then smashes Rhodes head into the table before kicking him directly in the nards. Orton pulls at Rhodes shirt and then sends him to the floor. Orton runs Rhodes over the announce table and then yanks the nearest ring steps apart so he can smash Rhodes in the head with the top portion. Rhodes is bleeding freely as Orton pushes Aldis down. Orton starts clobbering Rhodes in the chest before smashing his head on the destroyed ring steps. Orton lays in a bunch of rights as Rhodes really tapped a gusher. Orton yanks up the bottom portion of the steps and places them against the announce table. Orton mounts Rhodes head in the crevice portion of the steps as the locker room empties of refs and Security. Orton shoves a concerned Jelly Roll down and then leaves as he sees all the blood on his arm. Aldis and Jelly Roll check on Rhodes but Orton returns with a chair to smash Rhodes right in the head before staring at him and considering all the blood still on his arms. Orton puts the chair down and then grabs the one in the ring and sets it up. Orton grabs the title belt and sits in the ring with it calmly to a pop from the crowd as the credits roll and we’re out.

I’m not sure that went how they hoped it would go because Orton was getting chants and got a pop after he sat down with the title. Still, that’s one of the more vicious heel turns in recent memory quite frankly. The Rhodes love to get color and always have, so I’m not surprised Cody gigged himself FOR THE HEAT. They definitely got their highlights package for the match out of this if nothing else, and Orton played the cold-blooded killer role to a tee. Here’s the thing – will Cody have face heat from this? He’s really been kind of a douche backstage lately to Sami Zayn and Jacob Fatu, and I don’t know how the super-smarky Wrestlemania crowd is going to deal with this when the time comes. It will be interesting to see, anyway. Regarding the show, it was two and a half hours of not a lot and then it finished with a terrific Trick-Fatu match and the vicious Orton heel turn. We’ll call it very generously thumbs in the middle just due to the last forty minutes of the show, but I reiterate that the Bellas stink and should be nowhere near a title shot (that they’re getting next week in Raleigh, for the record).

Thanks for reading and commenting. Enjoy your weekend.