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WWE SmackDown Results [12/26/25]: McIntyre Chooses Stipulation, Hayes Wins U.S Title

Drew McIntyre has set the terms for his upcoming WWE Championship Match against Cody Rhodes, and Carmelo Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov to capture the Men's United States Championship. Here are all the results from Friday's episode of SmackDown.
Rick Ucchino|
Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes
Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes | WWE

Drew McIntyre wants the WWE Champion so bad, that he is willing to drag Cody Rhodes to Hell in order to get it. Three stages of it to be precise.

The Scottish Warrior finally named the stipulation for his upcoming WWE Championship Match on the January 9 edition of SmackDown, a condition gifted to him via the deal he struck with GM Nick Aldis to end his suspension.

During the main event segment of Friday night's episode of the Blue Brand, McIntyre attempted to provoke Rhodes to attack him. Per the deal Drew made with Nick Aldis, that would have forced the SmackDown GM to strip Cody of the title.

The American Nightmare resisted the temptation, which prompted McIntyre to declare that they would soon meet in a Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship.

Drew told Cody that when he drags him to Hell, he'd be able to say hi to his late father. Rhodes was ready to fight after that remark, but when Nick Aldis held him back, McIntyre used that opportunity to drop the champion with a Claymore Kick.

It was a heated finish to a wild night on SmackDown. The episode started with a Christmas concert from Joe Hendry and also included Carmelo Hayes capturing the Men's United States Championship from Ilja Dragunov. Here's everything you may have missed from the show in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

WWE SmackDown Match & Segment Results:

Much to the chagrin of The Miz, Joe Hendry kicked off the show with a holiday concert complete with dancing girls, an Easter Bunny (this will make sense soon) and Otis dressed as Santa. Hendry sang a parody of Jingle Bells that made fun of Miz's alleged tiny balls and Hollywood refusing to return his calls. The Miz eventually cut off the song. He said with John Cena retired, he's earned his place as the new locker room leader and that the jokes must stop.

Joe Hendry defeated The Miz in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. This was a standard WWE holiday brawl, which was more focused on comedy than brutality. Otis and the Easter Bunny ended up getting involved and helped Hendry pick up the win. The bunny turned out to be R-Truth (told you it would make sense). He told the crowd to have a Happy Easter before hitting a Five Knuckle Shuffle on The Miz . That allowed Hendry to blast him with a guitar and deliver a Standing Ovation through a table.

Ilja Dragunov met Carmelo Hayes backstage and said that it's been eating him alive that Tomasso Ciampa cost him the United States Championship a couple of weeks back. He told Melo that whether he liked it or not, the open challenge was closed tonight and that Hayes will be getting the shot at the title.

Aleister Black and Zelina Vega sent another message to Damian Priest, saying that their rivalry will be over when they say it's over.

Byron Saxton interviewed WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill ahead of her match with Michin next Friday. She said when Michin attacked her with a kendo stick a week ago, that told her that she's scared. Jade said she doesn't need a weapon because she is a weapon, and the entire locker room should be afraid of her.

Charlotte Flair w/ Alexa Bliss defeated Lash Legend w/ Nia Jax. The Boujee Bully put together another strong performance, strong being the key word, as not many women in WWE can match The Queen's size and power. She very well may have pulled off the victory, but she ended up getting distracted when Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax started to brawl outside the ring, and Charlotte hit her with a sunset flip roll up for the victory.

Fans were let into SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis' office, where former NXT and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Trick Williams was ready to talk business. He said that Raw was ready to throw him the bag and he was wondering if Aldis was willing the match the offer. WWE Champion Cody Rhodes then entered the room to talk to Aldis about the Drew McIntyre situation, and Trick told him to hang onto the WWE Championship real tight.

Solo Sikoa delivered a pre-recorded promo surrounded by his MFT's. He called them his real family and claimed that's something that Uncle Howdy knows nothing about. He made it clear that their pursuit of the WWE Tag Team Championship is not over, and that it's just a matter of time before Sikoa has the whole world in his hands.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov to win the Men's United States Championship. The Grand Rapids crowd was on fire for this one, as these two men delivered an absolute classic that was reminiscent of their battles together in NXT. Hayes was able to take full advantage of the second chance that was gifted to him by countering a top rope dive attempt by The Mad Dragon into a First 48. Melo then nailed the Nothing But Net to win the title. If you missed this one, go out of your way to watch it.

SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis broke up a backstage argument that broke out between Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky, Nia Jax & Lash Legend and The Kabuki Warriors over the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Aldis ended up booking an 8-woman tag team match for next Friday.

Carmelo Hayes was celebrating his United States Title victory during an interview with Cathy Kelley when he was attacked from behind by Johnny Gargano. Johnny Wrestling said that Hayes 'ruined everything' and that he was now going to take everything from him.

Giulia & Kiana James defeated Alba Fyre & Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green. This was a relatively quick tag team bout that saw James get most of the early action against Alba Fyre. Once the Beautiful Madness was the legal competitor, the result was never in doubt. Giulia ended up pinning Chelsea Green after hitting a delayed Northern Lights Bomb.

SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis was shown chatting with Kit Wilson, and promised him that there would be a new opportunity for him next week on the show. He put a particular emphasis on the word 'new'.

Interestingly enough, WWE aired an Oba Femi teaser vignette. Corey Graves then said on commentary that the NXT Champion will be a game changer in WWE. This comes on the heels of recent reports that numerous NXT stars will be getting the call up to the main roster in the near future.

Drew McIntyre made his way to the ring for the main event segment, where he paid his fine for attacking referee Dan Engler. He also issued a sincere apology for giving him that Claymore Kick a few weeks back. He then began to berate Engler for being a weak man who wasn't good enough to make it as a professional wrestler.

Those comments brought Cody Rhodes down to the ring. Drew attempted to provoke an attack from the WWE Champion, which would have forced him to be stripped of the title, but The American Nightmare didn't bite.

McIntyre said that the two of them would meet in a Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship on Friday, January 9 in Berlin, Germany. The Scottish Warrior told Cody that when he drags him to Hell, he'll be able to say hi to his dad. That prompted Rhodes to charge, but he was stopped by Nick Aldis. Drew capitalized on that opening by hitting Cody with a Claymore Kick. He then held up the WWE title belt to close the show.

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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

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