This post‑Elimination Chamber WWE SmackDown recap featured Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre results to determine “The Viper” Randy Orton’s WrestleMania 42 opponent. Championship and number one contender segments ruled this week.
Orton opened with an in-ring promo, excited to main event WrestleMania for only the third time. This was his prize for winning the Elimination Chamber match. He will face the winner of the title match later in the night between McIntyre and Rhodes.
The juiced-up Orton gives off odd vibes trying to skip around like a babyface. He was interrupted by Trick Williams. It didn’t take long for The Viper to RKO Williams mid-promo, out of nowhere.
The first match of this WWE SmackDown recap featured Carmello Hayes continuing the open challenge for his WWE United States Championship. This week, it was answered by AAA Latin American Champion Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr. They tried to bill it as a huge surprise appearance, but the pop of the crowd indicated otherwise.
The match was one of Hayes’ better ones since moving on from his recent rivalry with Ilja Dragunov. It had pace, high spots, but also strong slams and stiff striking. The champion retained against the surprise luchador opponent.
New WWE Women’s Tag Teams Champions, The Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax and Lash Legend), celebrated in the ring for the next segment. They were interrupted by former champs, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. Giulia and Kiana James followed, leading to a number one contender match. Flair looks as if she’s having fun for the first time. She’s also putting more heart into her matches and picked up the pinfall for her team.
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) and Fraxiom (Axiom and Nathan Frazier) started a tag-team gauntlet match. They opened with a quick pace, along with new-era athletic moves, and great chain wrestling on the mat. The referee missed Sabin’s foot on the rope, and the first team was eliminated.
Los Garza (Angel and Berto) then rushed the ring. All teams also executed smooth tandem moves to the point. It didn’t take long for Fraxiom to be eliminated, and for the Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy) to emerge as the next participants. The Sicks slowed down what was a match full of lightning agility.
The MFTs ran a distraction to eliminate the Sicks. The final team to emerge was Damian Priest and R-Truth. It felt tacky for Truth and Priest to be thrown together, do John Cena’s classic two or three moves, and become the number one contender over the other established teams.
Rhea Ripley had an in-ring promo for her upcoming title match at WrestleMania against WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill. Ripley called out the champ just seconds after grabbing the mic, who was quick to oblige.
This was a boring waste of time. Cargill mentioned that she’s bigger and stronger, before Ripley explained the difference in their bodies. The champ has one for show, and the challenger has one for fighting. This was an extremely underwhelming piece to the WrestleMania build-up and this WWE SmackDown recap.
Johnny Gargano versus Oba Femi was next. This was yet another squash match for Femi. It’s one thing to start a new talent off hot with a couple of them, but it’s getting ridiculous.
Cody Rhodes had a shot at Drew McIntyre and his Undisputed WWE Championship in this WWE SmackDown recap. Tables and steel chairs were quickly introduced. They got too cute with the finish by having the referee almost get knocked out a couple of times, only to be knocked down on the third on a soft bump. The whole segment looked fake.
The match was saved after the awkward moment. It appeared to be over when McIntyre hit Rhodes with a Claymore while he was distracted, trying to call in a new referee. The WWE Universe popped when he managed to kick out. The champ was upset with the new official and knocked him out with a headbutt.
Jacob Fatu was involved in the finish. After he stole the chair from McIntyre, the buildup led to a new WWE Champion. Rhodes will defend it against Orton at WrestleMania. Is it safe to assume a grudge match with Fatu and the former champion?
WrestleMania 42 is just weeks away, and new champions are still being crowned. Stay tuned to Stadium Rant to keep up-to-date on the road to the big event.
Fresh Takes Sports Podcast Tues 8:15 PM ET Live Here | Stadium Rant Articles by Howe Fresh | The Real Fresh Channel On X Here
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
