Wrestling On FanNation

WWE SmackDown Results (3/6/26): Cody Rhodes Wins Back the WWE Championship

Cody Rhodes is heading to WrestleMania 42 after he defeated Drew McIntyre Friday night on SmackDown to capture his third WWE Championship.
Rick Ucchino|
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes | WWE

Cody Rhodes is now a three-time WWE Champion.

The American Nightmare bested Drew McIntyre in the main event of Friday Night SmackDown to win back the very title he lost to the Scottish Warrior inside Three Stages of Hell earlier this year. Just like that night, Jacob Fatu played a major factor in the decision.

The Samoan Werewolf emerged to stop McIntyre from utilizing a steel chair, which allowed Rhodes to connect with a top rop Cody Cutter and then a Cross Rhodes to recapture the gold.

With the company's top prize once again in his possession, Rhodes will now head to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada to defend the gold against his old mentor Randy Orton. The Viper has immense respect for Cody, but he's vowed to not let that get in the way of him winning his 15th world championship.

WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley are on a collision course for the 'Showcase of the Immortals' and they met face-to-face for the first time ahead of their title match this April.

New No. 1 Contender's for both the Men's and Women's WWE Tag Team Championships were determined, Carmelo Hayes issued another open challenge for the Men's United States Championship, and Trick Williams, Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano all had a bad night at the office. 

Most importantly, Danhausen has found a new mentor! Or... his next victim to be cursed. Here are all the results from Friday's episode of WWE SmackDown in Portland, Oregon.

WWE SmackDown Results (3/6/26):

Randy Orton
Randy Orton | WWE

2026 Men's Elimination Chamber winner Randy Orton kicked off the show to a strong reaction from the crowd in Portland. He spoke about his history at WrestleMania, including that he's had the honor of competing at 20 of them, but he's only been in the main event twice. He said that goes to show just how tough it is to earn that spot, and he proclaimed that he's officially going back to the main event of the 'Showcase of the Immortals'. 

The Viper said that it didn't matter who ended up being his opponent. Whether he faces Drew McIntyre or Cody Rhodes, Orton vowed not to leave Las Vegas empty-handed. He promised to win his 15th world championship courtesy of the three most dangerous letters in sports entertainment — R... K... 

Trick Williams cut off Randy before he could finish his spiel. He made his way down to the ring and said that he had a bone to pick with The Viper. Trick Willy said he should be the one heading to Las Vegas to challenge for the WWE Championship, but more importantly, he took great exception with Orton claiming that he wasn't really 6'5" at the Elimination Chamber. That drew a hearty chuckle from The Viper before he struck with an RKO out of nowhere. 

Carmelo Hayes defeated Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr. to retain the Men's United States Championship. This is a match-up that was set up by SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, who said of all the requests he received to answer Hayes' open challenge, Dr. Wagner intrigued him the most. The reigning AAA Latin American Champion put up a strong fight, and even kicked out of the First 48. But Hayes eventually connected with Nothing But Net to retain the gold.

Ilja Dragunov spoke with Cathy Kelley backstage, who asked him why he turned down an opportunity to face Hayes for the Men's United States Championship last week. The Mad Dragon said he simply had not earned a title shot, which is a mindset that was ingrained in him at a young age by his mother. Both The Miz and Kit Wilson soon chimed in with their two cents on the matter, which led to Wilson versus Dragunov getting booked for down the road.

SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis was then seen backstage chatting with Damian Priest, who was looking to earn his way onto the WrestleMania card. He asked for an opportunity to wrestle tonight and then R-Truth popped into frame. Aldis introduced Priest to his partner for tag team turmoil later in the night, which brought a smile to his face.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre was in no mood to smile. He calmly tried to talk his way out of defending his title against Cody Rhodes in the main event, saying his victory in Three Stages of Hell was supposed to ensure that Rhodes did not receive a rematch unless he won the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber. Aldis threatened to have McIntyre forfeit the title if he didn't want to defend it. Seeing no way out, The Scottish Warrior said Rhodes would have to pry it from his cold dead hands.

Nia Jax and Lash Legend made their way down to the ring for their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship celebration. The Irresistible Forces said they now had the entire division on lock, and warned that any team who stepped up would get done up. They then attempted to toast their big victory a week ago, but they were interrupted by Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, as well as Giulia and Kiana James. Both teams made their claim to being next in line for a title shot, and then Nick Aldis appeared to book a match between them.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss defeated Women's United States Champion Giulia and Kiana James to become the No. 1 Contenders for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. The Queen was feeling herself in this one, strutting around to the ring as the crowd cheered, before hitting a picture perfect top rope moonsault on both of her opponents. Kiana James just got her shoulder up at two on the ensuing pinfall attempt, but Charlotte would later hit Natural Selection on Giulia to pick up the win for her team.

Sami Zayn approached Cody Rhodes backstage to wish him luck against Drew McIntyre, but The American Nightmare took issue with Zayn saying that it was "crazy" that this match was even happening. This sparked a shouting match between two men who are clearly frustrated with their positioning ahead of WrestleMania 42, but only one man has a chance to drastically improve his standing.

Damian Priest and R-Truth won tag team turmoil to become the No. 1 Contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Fraxiom took out the MCMG to start off the match, although there was some controversy over the pinfall. Alex Shelley put Chris Sabin's foot on the rope, but the referee didn't see it and counted to three. Los Garza ran to the ring as the Machine Guns attempted to argue their case, and the second match began. Angel and Berto made quick work of their already tired opponents and pinned Axiom after hitting him with the MTY. Los Garza then eliminated the Wyatt Sicks with a roll up on Dexter Lumis after The MFTs interfered. Priest and Truth were the final team out, and they ultimately took out Angel and Berto with a South of Heaven, Attitude Adjustment combo.

Sami Zayn approached Randy Orton backstage with a question. He asked how Orton can respect Cody Rhodes the way he does, but still take advantage of Drew McIntyre's interference at Elimination Chamber. The Viper told him that sometimes in life you need to be selfish. Zayn asked if that makes him a bad person, and Randy responded by saying it makes him a 14-time world champion.

2026 Women's Elimination Chamber winner Rhea Ripley came down for her face-to-face with Jade Cargill. She received a heck of a pop from the Portland crowd and she immediately called out the WWE Women's Champion. The Storm made her way to the ring and offered a handshake to her WrestleMania opponent. Jade said she did that because she respects Rhea's accomplishments and her physique, but she's not impressed.

The Storm said that she's bigger, stronger, and she's going to destroy Ripley in Las Vegas, because she's that bitch. Rhea admitted that Jade is impressive, but she's built for show. When the bell rings, Ripley is going to take the WWE Women's Championship because she's built for fighting, and she's that bitch.

Oba Femi defeated Johnny Gargano. Candice LeRae was able to snap her husband out of his catatonic state with a pep talk backstage, and he marched down the ring to issue an open challenge. He wanted to prove to the world and himself that he's still Johnny Wrestling, but he ended up getting squashed by The Ruler.

Danhausen made his SmackDown debuthausen! He spoke backstage with General Manager Nick Aldis about securing himself a mentor that would take him to the top of WWE. Aldis said he had just the man for the job and introduced him to The Miz. He was excited about the opportunity to learn from the A-lister, but The Miz refused to mentor him. Danhausen said he had better, or he would be cursed. The Miz laughed, but Danhausen reminded him about what happened to Dominik Mysterio on Monday.

Cody Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Championship. The American Nightmare didn't have to pry the title from Drew's cold dead hands, but it did take an assist from Jacob Fatu. With referees Charles Robinson and Dan Engler both taken out, the Samoan Werewolf emerged to stop McIntyre from using a steel chair on Rhodes. That gave Cody the opening he needed to hit a super cutter and a Cross Rhodes. Charles Robinson then rolled back into the ring to count the three and award Cody his third WWE Championship.

Rhodes climbed to the top rope after the match was over and pointed to the WrestleMania sign. Pyro went off behind him as the show came to a close.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

Home/WWE