Skip to main content
Wrestling On FanNation

WWE SmackDown Results (3/20/26): Orton Attacks Cardona, McIntyre & Fatu Fight, New Tag Champs Crowned

The voices once again got the better of Randy Orton Friday night on SmackDown as he took out Cody Rhodes' good friend, Matt Cardona. That was just the tip of the iceberg of what was a crazy show. Here are all the results.
Rick Ucchino|
Randy Orton
Randy Orton | WWE

There's an old saying — be careful what you wish for. 

Cody Rhodes is certainly regretting the moment he unleashed the real Randy Orton by giving him permission to give in to his darkest urges. The voices inside The Viper's head again told him to inflict violence Friday night. Only this time, the target was Rhodes' buddy Matt Cardona.

Orton destroyed the self-proclaimed Indy God with the ring steps and a steel chair, just as he did to Cody the week prior. And his actions were secondary to the true end of the show, where Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre may have seriously injured one another by fighting off the side of a scaffolding.

There were also three championship matches that headlined a crazy episode of WWE SmackDown. Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov once again put on a banger of a match with the Men's United States Championship on the line, and both the Men's and Women's Tag Team Titles were up for grabs.

Plus, Jelly Roll returned to the Blue Brand looking for a fight with Kit Wilson. Instead, he got dragged into a poetry slam.

Here's everything that happened on Friday night on SmackDown in Raleigh, North Carolina.

WWE SmackDown Results:

Friday's show opened to absolute chaos as numerous security personnel ran past Grammy Award winner Jelly Roll as he arrived at the arena. The cameras followed security to the scene of a car accident in the parking lot. The vehicle of Jacob Fatu had been T-boned by Drew McIntyre, who proceeded to drag The Samoan Werewolf out of the car through the windshield. He pounded on Fatu until WWE officials were able to pull him off.

McIntyre then made his way out to the crowd, where he ended up getting into an argument with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. A bloody Jacob Fatu soon hobbled his way down the entrance ramp to continue the fight, despite the best efforts of security to stop him. The brawl continued until Fatu finally got the better of McIntyre by giving him a splash through the commentary desk.

Damian Priest and R-Truth defeated Tama Tonga and JC Mateo to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship. Chaos continued to be the name of the game with the opening match of the night. The MFTs tried to steal this one when Solo Sikoa distracted the referee, so Talla Tonga could choke slam R-Truth on the ring apron, but the Wyatt Sicks rushed the ring to even the odds. As the two rival groups fought across the arena, Priest clocked Tama Tonga with a big clothesline and Truth hit Mateo with an Attitude Adjustment to win the titles.

The Bella Twins were set to be interviewed backstage when they were interrupted by Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. They were literally eating their feelings with a pint of ice cream each, but promised they would not get involved in the Bella's tag title match later in the night. They just wanted a shot at the winners. Nikki then begged Charlotte and Alexa to watch from the ringside area so they could see how real legends 'get the job done'.

Candice LeRae was backstage trying to snap Johnny Gargano out of his catatonic state when Danhausen approached. Candice asked if he could help Johnny, which prompted the very nice, but very evil Superstar to ask for 'twenty human dollars.' Candice took some money out of Johnny's pocket and handed it to Danhausen, who promptly disappeared. 

Sami Zayn and Trick Williams butted heads backstage. Zayn was asked for his thoughts about Randy Orton's attack on Cody Rhodes when Williams barged in to brag about his victory over Jacob Fatu last week. Trick promised to check out Sami's upcoming match against Aleister Black and give him a few pointers.

The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Fraxiom. This was a rock solid match-up that ended in a bit of controversy. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley were out to avenge their loss to Frazer and Axiom in the gauntlet match two weeks ago. They did just that thanks to Candice LeRae, who has been trying to recruit MCMG to help her husband over the last few weeks. LeRae decked Frazer behind the referee's back, which allowed Sabin to roll him up for the three count.

Randy Orton made his way down to the ring to explain his brutal assault on Cody Rhodes last week. The crowd in Raleigh serenaded him to the tune of his entrance music and he soaked it in for a few moments. Orton said he's really enjoyed all the love he's received from the WWE Universe over the past few years, and because of that, he's tried to return the favor via autographs and photos. Randy said it's been the most empty feeling he's ever experienced in his entire career.

When it comes time to hang up his boots, The Viper said he didn't want his legacy to be about his relationship with the fans. He wants his legacy to be about how many World Championships he's won in his career. He claimed to still love Cody like a brother, and reminded the crowd that it was Rhodes who told Orton to give in to his urges and listen to the voices. He has his killer instinct back, and it's going to carry him to victory at WrestleMania 42.

Back from a commercial break, we saw Orton walking backstage. He ran into Cody Rhodes' good friend Matt Cardona. An argument ensued where Randy called him a mark ass stooge and an indy nerd. Orton then clocked him with a right forearm and told him to stay out of his business.

Aleister Black defeated Sami Zayn. Trick Williams was sitting with his feet up on the commentary desk for most of this one. Aside from some trash talking, he was minding his own business until the fight between Aleister and Sami spilled to the outside. Zayn shoved Trick's feet off the desk in order to slam Black into it. Williams responded by pouring his drink over Sami's head. This prompted Zayn to lay Trick out with some right hands, but when he rolled back into the ring, he was immediately hit by a Black Mass. 

WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley met face-to-face in the ring, four weeks out from their match at WrestleMania 42. The Nightmare wasn't in the mood for a conversation, she was ready for a fight. Cargill instead fired Ripley up with some disrespectful comments toward the women's locker room and professional wrestling as a whole. Rhea then begged Jade to back up her comments and offered her a free shot. What she got instead was a 3-on-1 attack after Michin and B-Fab turned heel and helped Cargill lay Rhea out with a Jaded slam. 

The Miz was giving Kit Wilson a backstage pep talk when Danhausen appeared and offered to be their muscle later in the night when they call out 'Jelly Jam'. Wilson declined the offer, and Miz again told Danhausen that he would not mentor him. Danhausen told Miz that he would remain cursed and the A-Lister was struck by a falling ladder.

We then saw Solo Sikoa berating The MFTs for losing the WWE Tag Team Titles and blowing their opportunity to compete at WrestleMania. Tama Tonga then stepped up and told him to give Bray's lantern back to the Wyatt Sicks, because it's poisoning him and he's starting to sound like Roman Reigns. Before Solo could respond, he was interrupted by Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu, who were once again fighting as security tried to break them up.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov to retain the Men's United States Championship. There are hard-hitting matches and then there's what Hayes and Dragunov put themselves through in front of the Raleigh crowd. Melo had to battle through a rib injury after he crash-landed into the commentary desk on a dive to the outside. The Mad Dragon appeared to have won the title on multiple occasions, but Hayes just kept coming. After Dragunov connected with a Torpedo Moscow, he went for a finishing power bomb, but Melo rolled through with a sunset pinning combination to retain the gold.

Jelly Roll was on his way to the ring when he ran into Randy Orton. He tried talking sense into his friend and SummerSlam tag team partner, saying he doesn't recognize the man that stands before him. He said his first step toward redemption was apologizing to Matt Cardona.

Kit Wilson danced his way down to the ring and called out Jelly Roll. The multi-time Grammy Award winner marched to the ring with purpose and was ready to throw down. Kit said he wasn't there for physicality, but he was there to fight with his words. He pulled out a book of poetry and dropped some pretty decent bars about Jelly's weight. He responded with some comments about Wilson's mother and Kit blasted him with the microphone. He then went up to the top rope and hit a corkscrew elbow drop.

Jelly Roll later asked SmackDown GM Nick Aldis for a match against Kit Wilson and Aldis booked it for next Friday night in Pittsburgh.

Women's United States Champion Giulia was shown backstage chastising Kiana James for losing to Tiffany Stratton last week. Alba Fyre then wheeled Chelsea Green into frame and she offered to partner up with them to take down Tiffany. Giulia said she didn't need her help, and Nia Jax emerged to shove Chelsea down the hall as she made he way to the ring.

Nia Jax and Lash Legend defeated The Bella Twins via disqualification to retain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. The Irresistible Forces got every bit of the WWE Hall of Famers that they could handle, but Nikki and Brie did not get the opportunity to finish out the match. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were sitting ringside, as invited, and The Queen got involved when Nia went to hit Brie with one of the tag title belts. Charlotte hit Nia with several right hands, which caused the referee to call for the bell. A brawl then broke out between all three teams, and it was the tag champs that ended up standing tall.

Randy Orton was shown backstage once again, but this time he was on the phone. He thanked whomever he was speaking with for the advice and said he was going to go out to the ring to make things right.

The Viper called Matt Cardona down to the ring because he said he had an apology to make. Cardona was very careful not to get too close, but Orton genuinely apologized for his comments earlier in the night. He said he would also apologize to Cody Rhodes next week. He then gave Matt a hug, but seconds later delivered a low blow and an RKO.

The assault didn't stop there as Randy battered Cardona with the ring steps and a steel chair. WWE security tried to stop the onslaught, but couldn't before Orton stomped on the chair that was wrapped around Matt's arm.

As Orton was being escorted to the back, Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu were shown on the jumbotron. They were fighting on top of an elevated scaffolding. Nick Aldis and his security team rushed out to them, but got there just in time to watch both men fall off as the show came to a close.

There conditions are unknown as of press time.

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

Published
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