WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS (3/13): Corbridge’s alt-perspective report on Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton contract signing; MizTV with Jelly Roll, Cargill vs. Michin

WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
MARCH 13, 2026
PHOENIX, ARIZONA AT MORTGAGE MATCHUP CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY ERIC CORBRIDGE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Mark Nash

Attendance: Wrestletix reports that 9,180 tickets were distributed headed into the show. The arena was set up for 10,161.

[HOUR ONE]

– Fresh off Cody Rhodes winning the WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre last week, the road to Wrestlemania stopped in Phoenix. Wrestlemania was 36 days away. Jelly Roll was shown chatting with Cody Rhodes. Randy Orton arrived at the arena. Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis reviewed the contract that Rhodes and Orton would sign tonight.

Drew McIntyre walked out (to no music) carrying a microphone and complaining that Nick Aldis screwed him.  McIntyre stood on the announce desk and said the title was stolen from him so that the golden boy Cody Rhodes won the title back before Wrestlemania. Aldis came out and explained that there was nothing to make right because it was a fair match, and one where McIntyre even headbutted a referee. He told McIntyre he should be looking at the consequences of his own actions. McIntyre said that Jacob Fatu got involved and that Aldis was a corporate stooge that made sure Rhodes got the title back. Aldis was offended at being called a stooge and told McIntyre to remember where he came from. Aldis said now he understood why McIntyre kept trying to make sure Rhodes didn’t get a fair title shot. It was because when he did he beat McIntyre. McIntyre stormed into the ring and got in Aldis’s face. He told Aldis this was bullshit and said Aldis was going to make it right or else. Cue Jacob Fatu’s music.

Fatu sauntered to the ring holding a microphone of his own. He stared at McIntyre from across the ring before saying “fix what Drew? You wouldn’t even be champion if it wasn’t for me.” Fatu stated the facts that he fixed the situation last week so that McIntyre was no longer champion.  He said that this wasn’t about Aldis, Cody or a referee, it was about Fatu because he was the one that screwed him. So, what was Drew going to do about it? McIntyre said he was done with all of them. McIntyre told Aldis he quit, then dropped his microphone and walked off into the crowd.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Interesting opening segment. McIntyre came across like a child who lost and then took his ball and went home. It will likely lead to a match against Fatu at Wrestlemania, though the intrigue of Aldis as an x-factor remains.)

– Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were shown walking in the back past R-Truth. The Women’s Tag Team Champions Lash Legend and Nia Jax, now known as the Irresistible Forces, were also shown in the locker room. The Miz was backstage getting ready to host MizTV with guest Jelly Roll.

– Solo Sikoa talked to his MFT somewhere in the catacombs of the arena. He was holding the Wyatt lantern and told them that they were successful last week because the Wyatts still aren’t the number one contenders for their tag team titles, plus they still have the lantern. He said that he and Talla Tonga would take care of Rowan and Howdy tonight, then gave the lantern to Tama Tonga to protect because without it the Wyatts are nothing. After they left, Shinsuke Nakamura approached Tama and said something to him in Japanese that I didn’t understand. Solo returned and told Shinsuke to “stay the hell away from our family before you get hurt.”

The Wyatt Sicks entered for the opening non-title match. [c]

– Nick Aldis talked to Jacob Fatu in the backstage area somewhere because Fatu was flustered about McIntyre apparently quitting the company right before he was about to whoop him. Trick Williams walked up and said he was the only one who does the whooping around here. Fatu told him to shut up before he whipped Trick’s ass. Aldis tried to get Fatu to chill out. Fatu said he was tired of being disrespected and left. Trick said it was disrespectful what Fatu just said to him and what Randy Orton did (by RKO’ing him last week). Aldis made a match between Trick and Fatu tonight and Trick was mad. Trick wondered aloud who hired Aldis and said, “where’s Trips?” Aldis said if he didn’t want to be out of a job too then he needed to go get ready for his match.

The full MFT group came out for their match.

(1) UNCLE HOWDY & ERIK ROWAN (w/Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy) vs. SOLO SIKOA & TALLA TONGA (w/Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, J.C. Mateo) – Non-title match

The big men Rowan and Talla started off with shoulder tackles to size each other up. Neither man budged. Talla took him by surprise with a strike then knocked him over with a shoulder block. Solo tagged in and Rowan rallied with a shoulder tackle of his own on Solo. Howdy tagged in and momentarily was on the attack until Solo threw him to the floor, where Talla threw him around as they went to a picture-in-picture break. [c]

Talla dominated during the break and then tagged Solo back into the match. Solo set up Howdy for the Sister Abigail but Howdy reversed it into a back suplex. Both men were down as the Wyatts clapped the mat to rally Howdy for the lukewarm tag. Rowan threw a series of right hands and a DDT that barely phased Talla. Rowan knocked Solo off the apron and charged at Talla in the corner. Talla got a boot up but Rowan quickly kept the advantage with a standing cross-body. Rowan leapt off the second rope with a back elbow and covered for a two-count. Rowan lifted Talla onto his back but Solo was able to make a blind tag of Talla’s foot. Talla escaped, Solo kicked Rowan in the face and then Talla leveled the big man with a clothesline.

Solo climbed to the top rope but Rowan got his knees up to thwart the attempted move. Howdy tagged in and set up Solo for the Sister Abigail. Solo quickly escaped and hit the Samoan Spike. Solo covered but Rowan saved him. Talla clotheslined Rowan over the top to the floor and went out after him. They wiped each other out as the Wyatts and MFT at ringside squared off on the floor. Mateo walked into a Lumis superkick and then all began to fight. Solo rolled to the floor and hit Gacy and Lumis with Samoan Spikes. Solo returned to the ring and called for one more Spike. Nikki Cross grabbed the lantern off the ring corner and walked away with it. She distracted Solo so that Howdy could roll him up for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Uncle Howdy & Erik Rowan via pinfall in 11:00.

After the match, Tama Tonga blindsided Howdy and walked back up the ramp with the lantern.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: The saga of the hot-potato lantern must continue.)

– Damian Priest and R-Truth talked in the back about how they couldn’t let their past with the Judgement Day cloud their judgment and cost them the tag titles. Priest said that wasn’t the Judgement Day. Truth was actually referring to the MFT. He said that right there was J.C. McDonagh. “He’s been eating.” The guy with the slicked back hair was “Tama-nick”. Los Garza walked up and said that they did all the heavy lifting last week during the gauntlet match that determined the number one contenders. Priest agreed and said that after that they wiped the floor with Los Garza. Priest challenged them to a tag team match tonight and said he’d go talk to Aldis. Truth was wearing a Stone Cold Steve Austin” shirt.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Los Garza really did do all the work last week. There are few things that make less sense to me than when a babyface (or team) come in last during a gauntlet, cage, Rumble, and win without having to do much. I’ll never forget how annoyed I was when Lesnar and Rhodes both recently won Rumbles at #30. Save that for a heel.)

– Jade Cargill, the WWE Women’s Champion, entered for her match. [c]

(2)  JADE CARGILL vs. MICHIN (w/B-Fab) – Non-title match

Michin’s music played but she attacked Cargill from behind. She hit a spin kick that forced Cargill to regroup on the floor. The bell rang. Michin was aggressive and hit a hurricanrana off the top rope. She wanted to hit a dive to the floor but Cargill moved so Michin held up. As Cargill pointed to her head to show how smart she was Michin dove through and hit her. Michin rolled Cargill back in the ring, but when she entered Cargill hit her with a pump kick. Cargill stomped her as Joe Tessitore reminded the audience that Wrestlemania was five weeks away. Cargill whipped Michin to the ropes and she stuck in them. Cargill charged and Michin moved causing Cargill to tumble to the outside. Michin tried for a cross-body off the steps but Cargill caught her with a fallaway slam. [c]

Michin fought to escape the Jaded and did with a stunner. She hit a sloppy corner-assisted tornado DDT and covered for a two-count. Wade Barrett mentioned that Michin is coming off a three-month layoff. Michin hit a Sliced Bread followed by the Eat Defeat, but the momentum from it caused Cargill to fall out of the ring. Michin missed a rolling senton from the apron and landed hard on the floor. Cargill powerbombed her into the side of the barrier, rolled her back in the ring and chokeslammed her. Then she licked her, hit the Jaded and got the win.

WINNERS: Jade Cargill via pinfall in 9:00.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: I know Cargill gets a lot of criticism, but she passed the eye test for me here and didn’t do anything actively bad. She still looks like a star. Michin worked hard but lacks charisma.)

– Cathy Kelley attempted to interview Cargill mid-ring, but Cargill grabbed the microphone and said that was what happens when someone believes their own hype. She said that women are very quiet around her in the locker room, but everyone seems to think she should be scared of Rhea Ripley. Cargill said she wasn’t afraid of anything and wasn’t going to start today. She said she was going to beat Rhea’s ass at Wrestlemania and show her why she’s always on top. Cue Ripley’s music. Rhea confidently walked to the ring talking trash as she went. She got in the ring and dared Cargill to hit her. Cargill rolled out of the ring as the crowd booed. Ripley said that Cargill was running her mouth and now she wanted to run from her. She said that after Wrestlemania Cargill would be HER bitch.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Eh, that was fine. Using the word bitch to get a reaction is just so lame and generally means they have nothing better say. I’ll cut Ripley a little slack though since it is at least a play off of Cargill’s catchphrase.)

– Aldis was on the phone with someone and asked them to call him back if they heard anything about McIntyre. New WWE Champion Cody Rhodes walked up and asked what was going on with McIntyre. There was an audible mixed reaction when Rhodes appeared on-screen. Aldis told Rhodes to focus on the contract. Rhodes said it was all in order. Aldis left. Sami Zayn walked up and congratulated Rhodes on winning the title and said he was rooting for him at Wrestlemania. Rhodes said he said the same thing to Randy Orton. Rhodes said let’s cut to the heart of the matter because he knew that Zayn just wanted a title shot from the winner. Rhodes said he deserved a title shot. Zayn said he couldn’t believe that Rhodes thought so little of him. Zayn there would never be anyone else like Orton and that he looked up to Orton. He said he doesn’t look up to Rhodes because they are friends and they are supposed to be equals. Zayn said that Rhodes shouldn’t talk down to him. Rhodes objected to the notion that he was talking down to him. Rhodes said he actually does look up to Zayn and finds him inspiring. An annoyed Rhodes said that it’s fine that Zayn doesn’t look up to him, but he can look “right here” as he tapped on the championship on his shoulder.

After Rhodes exited Zayn attacked more helpless water bottles that refuse to find somewhere else to stand every time Zayn is around. Aleister Black and a laughing Zelina Vega walked up to him. Black questioned whether chasing world championships was too much for Zayn. Zayn told Black to stay far away from him. [c]

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Another very compelling conversation between these two “friends.” Every week you have to hang on every word to hope you don’t miss something that might be revealing or hint at what’s to come next. It is the same way I (we?) felt during the height of the Bloodline saga. I’m personally excited to see how it plays out over the next several months.)

[HOUR TWO]

– Michin was icing her shoulder and talking to B-Fab. Rhea Ripley walked up to console her but Michin was having none of the pity party. B-Fab said Michin needed a second and said they needed to go somewhere and talk.

– Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss had staggered entrances as usual for their title shot. Before the tag team champions could enter, the Bella Twins came out instead. They live in Phoenix. A lot of Total Divas/Bellas fans like them. Brie said it felt good to be back on Smackdown in their hometown. Nikki said hello to Bliss and Flair and claimed that they were next in line for the tag titles. They said they would be watching from ringside. [c]

The Irresistible Forces came out to their new theme music that I couldn’t understand because there was some heavy bass drowning out the words. Ring announcer Mark Nash gave the match the special match introductions. The babyfaces got cheered while the heels were booed. It was refreshing.

(3)  CHARLOTTE FLAIR & ALEXA BLISS vs. THE IRRESISTIBLE FORCES (Lash Legend & Nia Jax) (c) – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match

The heels attacked as soon as the bell rang while the babyfaces had their backs turned. They high-fived at how clever they were. Bliss and Flair held the ropes down so Nia Jax tumbled to the floor. Bliss and Flair sent Legend out with her. Bliss attempted a flipping senton from the apron but Jax caught her and dropped her. Flair springboarded over the top rope onto Jax but when she stood up she ate a massive pump kick from Legend. The referee counted as the tag champions taunted the Bellas. They went to a split screen. [c]

Bliss was caught off the ropes by Legend but then rolled through to tag in Flair. Flair immediately hit a cross-body on Legend and a big boot that knocked Jax to ringside. Flair took Legend to the chop-house and allowed her to order an appetizer. Flair was on fire until Jax caught her trying to springboard over the top rope into the ring. Jax caught her on her back and gave her a Samoan Drop, then covered for a nearfall.  Jax missed an Annihilator when Flair moved. Flair hit her signature moonsault and covered but Legend made the save. Bliss with a tornado DDT as the match broke down. Jax almost took out the Bellas but then pulled Nikki in front of her and Flair superkicked her on accident. Jax struck Brie and rolled Flair back into the ring. Flair tagged Bliss and hit the Natural Selection. Bliss was about to go for Twisted Bliss and likely the win, but Brie Bella jumped in and attacked Jax causing the referee to ring the bell.

All six women fought each other after the match. The heels dominated and destroyed the Bellas including Jax hitting a legdrop off the second rope onto Nikki Bella while Legend held her up.

WINNERS: Nia Jax and Lash Legend via disqualification in about 9:00. Jax and Legend retained the tag team titles.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: As soon as the Bellas showed up it was obvious what was going to happen. Clearly they are setting up a multi-women tag team title match for Wrestlemania. I doubt it will only be three teams involved.)

R-Truth yucked it up with Jelly Roll in the back. Priest walked up, said hello to Roll and then said they needed to go. Randy Orton walked up and they congratulated each other on their recent success. Orton told Roll to whip Miz’s ass if he ran his mouth too much during MizTV.

– Damian Priest and R-Truth made staggered entrances for the next match. [c]

– The Bellas argued with Bliss and Flair in some backstage hallway. Los Garza entered for their match.

(4)  DAMIAN PRIEST & R-TRUTH vs. LOS GARZA (Angel & Berto)

Los Garza attacked right as the bell rang. It was exactly what happened in the previous match. Priest was quickly up and double-clotheslined them both. Priest tagged in Truth who hit an axe kick. Angel stepped on Truth’s foot to gain an advantage. Berto held Truth in place so Angel could hit a running knee. Berto tagged in but truth hit a flying head scissors and a splash in the corner. Truth celebrated too much and then Angel held the ropes causing Truth to tumble to the floor. Los Garza hit stereo moonsaults to the floor. [c]

Los Garza continued to use their tag chemistry and maneuvers to stay in control of the match. Angel suplexed Truth and covered for a two-count. Angel did the “you can’t see me” taunt which caused Truth to fight back. Truth back body dropped Berto over the top rope to the floor and tagged in Priest. Priest hit several kicks and splashed each Garza in a respective corner he hit the old-school into a cross-body on Berto. The crowd came alive. Priest with a clothesline and cover that Angel broke up. Priest went for a Razor’s Edge but Angel pulled Berto to safety. Berto hit a springboard elbow followed by an Angel moonsault, which led to another nearfall. Priest got his boot up when Berto went for a moonsault. Priest hit a Razor’s Edge on Angel of the top rope. Truth tagged in. Priest chokeslammed Angel while Truth gave Berto an AA. Truth hooked Berto’s leg for the one…two…three.

WINNERS:  Damian Priest and R-Truth via pinfall in 11:00.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Predictable win for the team getting a title shot. Los Garza continue to impress every change they get.)

– Alex Shelley was trying to talk some sense into Johnny Gargano who was still laying face-first on a crate. Candice LeRae was hopeless about the whole thing. Shelley suggested they get back to basics and back to Johnny Wrestling. LeRae was excited about that and rolled him away. Chris Sabin walked in and Shelley presumed he was about to apologize for getting mad at him last week for not breaking up a pin attempt during their match, since he should have watched the replay to see that he did actually break it up. Sabin wanted to know why Shelley was wasting his time with Gargano, who cost them the tag team championships. Sabin said he got them a match against Fraxiom. Shelley was thrilled. Sabin told him to prove that he was still committed to the Motor City Machine Guns. On a side note, it was notable that Jade Cargill was talking to B-Fab in the background.

– Danhausen walked up to The Miz and gave him one of his shirts to wear during his MizTV with “Jelly Jam.” Miz wanted to know how he managed to have his own shirt after only a week in the company. Danhausen said he had it his first day. He ran down more of his demands and Miz shot them all down. He cursed Miz and when Miz turned around Danhausen was gone. [c]

– Miz was in the ring but his microphone wouldn’t work. He was handed a new one. He welcomed his guest, the 3-time Grammy winner Jelly Roll. Roll walked out to one of his songs with a big smile and clapped the hands of fans on his way to the ring. Miz was dancing and they hugged. Miz asked Roll what brought him to MizTV. Roll said he wasn’t going to miss his two friends Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton signing their contract tonight. Miz said he sees the potential in Roll and offered to be his mentor so he could teach his core values of “M.I.Z. – master, inspire, zone-in.” Roll said no because every time Miz has a partner he stabs them in the back. Miz was taken aback by that. He questioned Roll’s redemption story and said that a while back Roll fell down and couldn’t get his obese self back up until Miz pulled him up. Miz claimed that that was led Roll to changing his life and losing 250 pounds. Roll asked Miz if he was that narcissistic and was pissed that Miz would try to take credit for his hard work. Miz said he liked Roll better when he was fat. Roll told “Mike” that “fat or skinny I will whip your ass.” Miz said he needed to show respect to a locker room leader. Roll called him a locker room loser. Kit Wilson came out.

Wilson begged Miz to stop wasting his time because the problem was Jelly Roll. Roll said that things were getting weird and that they all secretly kinda liked him. Roll did a shimmy and said he’d been practicing. Wilson said the problem was the face tattoos and the criminal charges and building a brand on bad behavior. He was mad that Roll mocked him. Roll apologized. Wilson called him “fat-phobic.” He said that Roll reinforced an unhealthy body image. He called Wilson toxic and they pushed each other. Miz held Wilson back. Roll tried to punch Wilson but he moved and Roll knocked out Miz. Wilson left and dragged Miz out with him as Jelly Roll celebrated in the ring.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: You might not believe it if you are just reading results, but that was really was a well-done segment. All three men did their jobs very well. Jelly Roll is clearly a very polished performer and does well with whatever WWE allows him to do.)

– Apollo Crews and Ilja Dragunov were laughing because they watched the previous segment in the back and saw Miz get knocked out. Carmelo Hayes walked in and asked if he could talk to Dragunov alone. Hayes said he watched Dragunov talk about how he his passion came from his mom and wondered whether the U.S. open challenge was too much of a burden him. Dragunov said that wasn’t it and that he was stuck between supreme confidence and the ultimate self-doubt. He never knew peace. Hayes said he didn’t understand and said he needed Dragunov to lock in or he was going to wonder if there was another reason why he didn’t want to fight Hayes. Dragunov said he couldn’t fight Hayes when he was busy fighting himself.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: I liked that last line a lot. Dragunov is a complex and interesting character.)

– Tiffany Stratton was cutting a promo against Giulia to the camera. Chelsea Green rolled up to talk trash but Stratton hilariously pushed her wheelchair away. Alba Fyre chased after her and Stratton continued telling Giulia she was going to beat her. Stratton entered for a match against Kiana James. [c]

[HOUR THREE]

– Vanessa Hudges, a big WWE fan, was shown holding a championship belt in the front ro. UFC Hall of Famer Mark Kerr was also shown. He looked less excited.

– Kit Wilson told the Miz he was going to talk to Aldis about what Jelly Roll did. Danhausen asked Miz if “Jimmy Jam” knocked out any of his teeth, as he had his teeth jar with him. Mix told him to leave. Danhausen said there was one thing he needed to do to reverse the curse. But then he was gone.

– Kiana James entered for her match, accompanied by the United States Champion Giulia.

(5)  TIFFANY STRATTON vs. KIANA JAMES (w/Giulia)

Stratton quickly got a nearfall with a sunset-flip off the ropes. James rammed Stratton’s head into two corners but Stratton stopped her from doing it a third. Stratton showed off her gymnastics skills. James hit a Dealbreaker and followed Stratton to the floor, where she sent her into the barricade. [c]

During the break, Alba Fyre rolled Chelsea Green to ringside in her wheelchair. Back in the ring Stratton hit a cutter and covered for a two-count. James countered a cartwheel Alabama slam attempt with a Falcon Arrow. She covered for a two-count of her own. James attempted a powerbomb and kind of botched it. Stratton hit the rolling senton so Giulia pulled Jame to the floor. Stratton hit a suicide dive onto James. Green stood up and went to hit someone with a pink wrench. But Giulia got in the way and forced her back into her wheelchair. Giulia got up on the apron and held Stratton. James went to give her a big boot, but Stratton moved and she kicked Giulia off the apron into Green and Fyre instead. Stratton hit the rolling senton and moonsault to pick up the win.

WINNER: Tiffany Stratton via pinfall in 8:00.

– Trick Williams told Cathy Kelley that he was going to take off his lemon pepper steppers and smack the boogeyman out of him. Kelley left as Sami Zayn walked up. Zayn questioned Trick for all his big talk lately. He said he saw him get dropped at the Chamber, last week by Orton, and is about to get dropped by Jacob Fatu. He said that Trick can’t back up his talk. Trick said Zayn was lucky that Trick had a match tonight or he’d drop him where he stood. Zayn said he’s here every week and easy to find.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Looks like we are getting Trick vs. Zayn at Wrestlemania. Could or should it be a double-turn? I vote “no”, but I may not be in the majority )

Jacob Fatu entered for the main event match of the evening. [c]

Trick Williams made his entrance as the crowd chanted “whoop that trick.”

(5)  JACOB FATU vs. TRICK WILLIAMS

Barrett questioned whether Trick could beat someone the caliber of Fatu. Fatu backed him into a corner and heabutted him. Trick regrouped with chops in the corner and a leapfrog after a reversed Irish Whip. Trick slammed Fatu’s head into the buckle to no effect since he’s Samoan. Fatu slammed his own head repeatedly into it to show that it was a fruitless endeavor. Trick looked on, jaw agape. Fatu hit his springboard into a standing moonsault. He clotheslined Trick to the floor and they went to a split screen. [c]

Fatu leapt to the top rope and hit a flipping move and covered for a nearfall. He stomped on Trick in the corner. When Fatu went for the running hip attack Trick ran out of the corner and hit a spin kick. Trick called for Fatu to get up. He missed an axe kick but did hit a flapjack and kipped up. The crowd cheered as he hit a uranage and covered for a two-count. Trick pulled down his kneepad to set up for a Trick Shot, but Fatu caught him with a superkick, a pop-up Samoan drop, a running hip attack, and a swanton bomb. He covered but Trick kicked out again. Fatu called for the moonsault but Trick slid to the floor. Fatu went out after him.

Drew McIntyre came through the crowd and attacked Fatu. He threw him into the Ringpost then rolled him back in the ring. The deaf and blind referee had no idea. Trick hit the Trick Shot and covered Fatu for the three-count.

WINNER: Trick Williams via pinfall in 11:00.

(Corbridge’s Analysis: Did anyone really believe McIntyre had left the building? Not if you’ve paid attention to his actions in recent months. The Wrestlemania card continues to get clearer.)

Post-match, McIntyre hit a Claymore kick on Fatu, then stood over him and gave a thumbs-down. [c]

WWE Championship Match Contract Signing

– Nick Aldis stood in the ring in front of a table as he prepared for the contract signing for the WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania. He called for Randy Orton and then new WWE Champion Cody Rhodes to come down to the ring. They obliged. When they got in the ring they both sat down at the table. Rhodes said he knew what the fans wanted to talk about and pointed out that his first WWE match was in 2007 against Randy Orton. He then watched Orton win the Royal Rumble and go on to main event Wrestlemania. And then Rhodes left WWE. While he was gone Orton publicly stated that Rhodes could be a world champion. When he came back Orton was the only person that was there for him. Rhodes said he’s always been proud to be Orton’s boy. Rhodes signed the contract and passed it over to Orton.

Orton hesitated. He stood up and walked to the corner with his head down. He said he didn’t think Cody understood. Orton said he needed Wrestlemania. He needed the title, but this was supposed to be easy because his opponent was supposed to be McIntyre. Rhodes stood now and said that when the bell rings he’ll get the Legend Killer and the master of the RKO. But when the last bell rings he wanted Orton to know that he’ll always love him. Orton signed the contract and they shook hands. Then Orton slammed Cody’s head into the table, kicked him in the balls, and ripped his shirt off. Orton threw Rhodes over the announce desk, then hit him with the steel steps. Aldis tried to talk some sense into him while Cody bladed. Orton pushed Aldis down. Orton punched Rhodes to get blood everywhere and then kept hitting him while he was on the desk. The fans were chanting “Randy, Randy, Randy.” Jelly Roll came down to try and talk some sense into Orton, but Orton pushed him down too.

Rhodes looked absolutely destroyed laying on his back between the announce table and the steel steps as officials checked on him. Orton came back and hit the prone Rhodes with a chair. Orton stared skyward as Jelly Roll and officials pleaded with Orton to stop. Orton set up a chair in the ring and sat on it while holding the WWE Championship.

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