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WWE SmackDown Tonight: Results, Highlights, & Live Blog (4/3/26)

The road to WrestleMania 42 stops through Randy Orton's hometown of St. Louis for SmackDown this evening.
Matt Black|
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes | WWE.com

The road to WrestleMania 42 won't get any easier for Cody Rhodes tonight as WWE SmackDown rolls through the hometown of Randy Orton in St. Louis, Missouri.

The American Nightmare returned to SmackDown last week after being attacked weeks earlier by The Viper following their WrestleMania contract signing for the WWE Championship. During the brawl, a mutual friend of both men, Jelly Roll, was caught in the crossfire and was on the receiving end of an RKO.

Rhodes will certainly be looking for revenge this evening, but it's clear that he's heading into hostile territory as the WWE Universe will firmly be in The Legend Killer's corner tonight. There will also likely be a numbers game involved, as Randy Orton has promised that the mysterious person he's been speaking with on the phone in recent weeks will be in St. Louis this evening.

Who's been getting inside Orton's head? Tune in to find out.

Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes
Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes | WWE

Last week, Sami Zayn was seemingly on the outside looking in when it came to getting a spot on WrestleMania this year. But Zayn took matters into his own hands, answering Carmelo Hayes' open challenge and capturing the United States Championship for the second time.

Zayn is set to address the WWE Universe later tonight on SmackDown. Will he be interrupted by his WrestleMania opponent, Trick Williams? Or will Melo confront him for a potential rematch? Or maybe both? We'll find out soon enough.

The number one contender for the WWE Women's Champion, Rhea Ripley, will be in action tonight as she goes one-on-one with Michin. With Ripley's friend, IYO SKY stuck on Raw, The Eradicator will once again look to take on the numbers game ahead of the Showcase of the Immortals.

Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre are both scheduled to appear on tonight's episode of SmackDown to address their upcoming unsanctioned match, which will take place later this month at WrestleMania 42. Will General Manager Nick Aldis successfully be able to keep these two men apart for another two weeks? It doesn't seem likely.

After unsuccessfully being able to capture the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles on Raw, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria make their way to the blue brand tonight to face the team who ruined their match on Monday, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. Whichever team secures the victory should gain significant momentum heading into the fatal four-way title match at the Showcase of the Immortals.

WWE SmackDown results:

This week's episode of SmackDown kicks off with Randy Orton making his way to the ring to speak to the hometown crowd. Orton asks St. Louis what they want to talk about, mocking Cody Rhodes in the process as the crowd eats it up. Orton says the next time you see him in St. Louis he'll have his 15th World Championship wrapped around his waist.

Randy Orton says he isn't winning at WrestleMania for St. Louis, he's doing it for himself and his family. Orton says Rhodes is leaving the Showcase of the Immortals empty handed. Orton says this match with Rhodes isn't personal, but Rhodes gave him his blessing to listen to the voices and to be the Viper and now that can't be put back to bed.

This brings out Cody Rhodes and the two immediately start to brawl. Rhodes gets the upper hand and the WWE Universe tries to boo him out of the building. Pat McAfee shows up and kicks Cody in the balls. McAfee proceeds to try to run down the local sports teams to get Orton heel heat as Orton hits Rhodes with a steel chair. Nick Aldis comes out with security but Orton keeps them at bay.

Pat McAfee basically says the current WWE product sucks now, and he misses the Attitude Era. McAfee acknowledges last week's episode was the lowest-rated episode of all time. McAfee confirms he's been on the phone with Randy and says the business Cody is leading is terrible, and that Orton will save WWE. The crowd loudly chants for Randy as nothing WWE can do will make them boo him going into WrestleMania.

When the show comes back from commercial break, Pat McAfee and Randy Orton are backstage, very proud of themselves over what they just did. They get into a truck together and leave.

Rhea Ripley defeated Michin (w/ B-Fab and Jade Cargill). This match was way more competitive than anyone expected. Michin was in control for most of the match, but Ripley managed to pull it out in the end. The finish saw Rhea Ripley lock Michin in the Prism Trap to win the match via submission.

After the match, B-Fab and Jade Cargill hit the ring and Ripley is on the receiving end of another three on one beatdown. But IYO SKY arrives and saves the day helping Ripley take out the trio.

Matt Cardona is backstage in the medical room. He's approached by Aleister Black and Zelina Vega, who continue to give him grief. Cardona says he's going to Aldis to get a match between them later tonight.

They shift to the MFTs backstage, where Solo Sikoa asks who's going to fight Uncle Howdy tonight so they can keep the lantern. Tama Tonga doesn't understand why Sikoa wants the lantern so bad and says it's been nothing but trouble for the group. Sikoa says Tama can fight Howdy tonight. Tama says that's fine, but he'll do it on his own. Sikoa tells him not to screw it up.

Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY are seen backstage. Ripley tells SKY she owes her one for saving her tonight. Cathy Kelley approaches and asks whether SKY being there tonight was planned. Ripley says Jade Cargill has proven that she can't do anything on her own and that Jade might have followers, but she has friends. SKY says she'll have Ripley's back no matter what.

Uncle Howdy defeated Tama Tonga. This match saw Tama Tonga in control for a majority of the matchup. Late in the match, Uncle Howdy managed to lock on the Mandible Claw. Solo Sikoa came out to try to hit Howdy with the Lantern, but the referee caught him. Solo and Tama argue, letting Howdy hit Tama with Sister Abigail to score the pinfall victory.

After the match, Solo and Tama continue to argue. Tama takes the lantern and sits it on the ring apron allowing Howdy to take it back as Tama holds Solo off.

We see The Miz and Kit Wilson backstage. Wilson is still worried about Danhausen's curse, but Miz tries to convince him that it's not real. R-Truth interrupts, and one thing leads to another, and Truth challenges them to a match tonight for the Tag Team Titles. Truth says he's going to go to Nick Aldis and make it official. Obviously, Wilson and Miz are thrilled to get a title shot for no reason.

Sami Zayn is backstage with Nick Aldis. Zayn thanks Aldis for giving him time tonight to speak to the WWE Universe. Aldis puts Zayn over for creating a spot for himself at WrestleMania. But before Sami Zayn can head to the ring, Trick Williams' music plays and he heads to the ring with Lil Yachty.

Trick Williams says he's out there to celebrate his first match at WrestleMania. Williams says since it's WrestleMania season when all the stars show up it's only right that he brought out Lil Yachty. Trick invites Yachty to WrestleMania, and he accepts. Williams makes ginger jokes about Sami Zayn and then tells the truck to use Zayn's pyro.

After the pyro goes off, Sami Zayn comes out and tells Trick he's getting ahead of himself. Zayn says pageantry has never been his thing, and his thing is about what he does when he steps inside the ring. Zayn says he's going to humble Williams at WrestleMania. Williams says the only reason Sami Zayn is champion and is heading to WrestleMania is because of him. This brings out Carmelo Hayes.

Hayes says he just can't sit back and listen to all of this. Hayes says he'll get his receipt on Williams, but he doesn't like how Zayn handled himself last week. The crowd makes it very clear they want Carmelo Hayes in a spot at WrestleMania. Melo tells Sami to listen to the people and give him his rematch. Zayn says he thinks the world of Hayes but his match with Trick is already official and he will give him a rematch after WrestleMania.

Trick eggs Zayn on to give Melo the rematch, and after Zayn talked it out and touched upon his own history of being screwed over, he agrees to give Hayes the rematch tonight, with the winner facing Williams at WrestleMania. Trick continues to mock Zayn afterward, and Sami clotheslines him over the top rope.

Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga are backstage with the rest of The MFTs, still arguing about the Lantern. Tama says he did what he had to do so they can get back to the task of collecting championships. Solo says once they take care of the Wyatts, they'll start going after titles. It certainly seems like Tama Tonga is being kicked out of this group soon.

Aleister Black (w/ Zelina Vega) vs. Matt Cardona. A perfectly fine match between two men who likely aren't getting anywhere near this year's WrestleMania card. The finish saw Aleister Black hit Matt Cardona with Black Mass to score the pinfall victory.

Cathy Kelley is backstage with Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Bayley says they are going to get revenge on Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss tonight for costing them the titles on Monday. Lyra says this is about making good for what happened to Bayley last year at WrestleMania.

Keep refreshing throughout the evening for The Takedown on SI's live coverage of tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown.

WWE SmackDown card:

  • Rhea Ripley vs. Michin
  • Uncle Howdy vs. Tama Tonga
  • Aleister Black vs. Matt Cardona
  • Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria
  • United States Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes

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Published | Modified
Matt Black
MATT BLACK

Matt Black got involved in the wrestling media industry over two decades ago, covering WWE video games released by Acclaim, THQ, and 2K. He has been covering professional wrestling for multiple digital outlets since 2019. He is the former Senior Editor of WrestleZone and has extensive knowledge of the entire wrestling industry. In his spare time, Matt enjoys cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He's also a diehard comic book movie fan and doesn't pick sides when it comes to the endless debates of Marvel versus DC.

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