By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Smackdown (Episode 1,387)
Raleigh, North Carolina, at Lenovo Center
Simulcast live March 20, 2026, on USA Network and internationally on Netflix
[Hour One] Smackdown opened with a recap of Randy Orton attacking WWE Champion Cody Rhodes during the contract signing that closed last week’s show… Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett checked in from their broadcast table. They spoke briefly about Orton attacking Rhodes, and Tessitore hyped that Orton would appear during the show…
Backstage/arrival shots aired of WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Lash Legend, Nikki Bella and Brie Bella, The MFTs, Damian Priest and R-Truth, and Kit Wilson…
Jelly Roll was shown arriving in a truck, which he parked outside the building. Various WWE officials ran past him. Cameras followed and showed Drew McIntyre attacking a bloody Jacob Fatu on top of a white car. The broadcast team spoke at their desk about the attack…
“What the hell did you think was going to happen?” Drew McIntyre called out before he emerged from the entrance area and headed to the ring. He said people want him to shut up and wrestle. McIntyre said if anyone wanted a fight, their ass belonged to him.
Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis walked out and asked what was wrong with McIntyre. He said McIntyre wants to face Fatu, and Fatu wants to face him. Aldis said McIntyre wants to be on his way to WrestleMania, but he’s on his way to unemployment. McIntyre mentioned Aldis’s son, Donovan, and said he’s ashamed to have a corporate stooge as a father.
Jacob Fatu came out through the entrance and got past the security guards and producers who tried to stop him. Fatu and McIntyre met near the ring and brawled. Fatu ran McIntyre’s head into the ring post casing and then ran him into the ring steps. Fatu tossed McIntyre over the broadcast table. Fatu headbutted McIntyre several times and threw punches at him until the producers and security intervened.
Fatu barrelled past the producers and security and then jumped off the barricade and splashed McIntyre through the broadcast table. McIntyre was holding his jaw while lying on the collapsed table as the show went to its first commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: A h0t opening with a good brawl that heated up the Fatu vs. McIntyre feud heading into a likely WrestleMania 42 match. The attendance is strong for his show. An hour before showtime, WrestleTix listed the venue as being set up for 13,448 with 12,986 tickets distributed. The listed capacity is 20,000.
The broadcast team recapped the Fatu and McIntyre brawl… Entrances for the WWE Tag Team Title match took place…
1. JC Mateo and Tama Tonga vs. Damian Priest and R-Truth (w/Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga, Tonga Loa) for the WWE Tag Team Titles. The champions apparently have the option of using Freebird Rules, which allow any members of the faction to defend the titles. They Priest down on the floor before a picture-in-picture break. [C] Truth caught Mateo in STF. Solo distracted the referee while Talla broke up the pin and chokeslammed Truth on the apron.
“The Wyatt Sicks” Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Nikki Cross walked out. A brawl broke out between the MFTs and the Wyatts. Howdy attacked Solo. Mateo ran Howdy into the barricade and gave the lantern back to Solo. Mateo returned to the ring. Truth hit the Attitude Adjustment on Mateo and pinned him…
Damian Priest and R-Truth defeated JC Mateo and Tama Tonga in 8:50 to win the WWE Tag Team Titles.
Priest and Truth celebrated afterward, while Tessitore mentioned that it was only their third match as a team…
Powell’s POV: I’m not crazy about seeing two singles wrestlers win the tag titles when the company is wasting so many good tag teams, but it’s not like the MFTs vs. Wyatt Sicks feud needed the tag team titles.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Nikki Bella and Brie Bella bout challenging for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. They were interrupted by Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, who were eating ice cream. Flair said it was no surprise that the Bellas skipped the line. She called them selfish. Flair said that she and Bliss wouldn’t interrupt the title match because they don’t need to be the center of attention. Flair said they want the winners of the title match. Nikki asked Flair to come watch their match so she could see how real legends get it done. Brie took Bliss’s spoon.
Backstage, Candice LeRae spoke while Johnny Gargano was lying on a production crate. LeRae said she’d tried everything and didn’t know what else to do. Danhausen showed up and scared her. Danhausen poked at Gargano, who didn’t flinch. LeRae noted that Danhausen can curse things and wondered if he fixes things. He asked for a ridiculous amount of money. LeRae handed him one bill. Danhausen thanked her and then was gone when she looked up again. The Motor City Machine Guns walked through. Alex Shelley stopped to check on LeRae and Gargano. Chris Sabin called for Shelley and reminded him they had a match… [C]
A brief video showed YouTubers reacting to Randy Orton attacking Cody Rhodes…
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Sami Zayn, who said he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to Cody Rhodes. Zayn said he’s said a lot about Cody, but Cody always tries to do good. Zayn conceded that he looks up to Randy Orton and said he does what he does. He said he didn’t know what to make of things anymore. He wondered if the world that he believed in no longer exists.
Trick Williams interrupted and talked smack. Zayn said they’ve done a lot of talking, and maybe they should have a match. Trick told Zayn to take it easy because he had a match coming up. Trick said he might watch Zayn’s match and give him some pointers if he liked what he saw. Zayn laughed and then got in his face and told him to take a good look…
2. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “Fraxiom” Nathan Frazer and Axiom. Both entrances were televised. Barrett downplayed the friction between the Guns by talking about how long they’ve been a team and said that brothers occasionally bicker. Frazer and Axiom were in offensive control before an early break. [C]
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