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WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Elimination Chamber 2026
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on March 6.
Despite coming up short inside the Chamber, Cody Rhodes was granted a WWE Championship match on this week's show. Here's a look at what WWE advertised for this week's show:
Let's take a look at what happened on this week's SmackDown.
The Voices Are Happy
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After a quick recap of Elimination Chamber, the men's winner, Randy Orton, made his way to the ring looking very happy.
Orton talked about how he has only main-evented WrestleMania twice despite all of his title wins and accomplishments, but it's time for number three.
He spoke about the different legends who have influenced his career and put over the talented roster who shares a locker room with him.
He said it doesn't matter who he faces because he is not leaving 'Mania empty-handed. Trick Williams came out to interrupt him, but he was dropped by an RKO seconds after he got into the ring.
This was a pretty standard promo segment, but Orton had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and the RKO to Trick Willy got a big pop.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Carmelo Hayes vs. Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr.
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Last time in action: Hayes defeated Matt Cardona (SD, Feb 27), Wagner lost to El Grande Americano (AAA, Feb. 28)
Carmelo Hayes held another open challenge for the U.S. title this week, and Nick Aldis told him challengers were contacting him from around the world.
The challenge was answered by AAA's Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr. We've seen Wagner pop up in NXT a few times, but this was his first singles match on the WWE main roster.
The challenger took control right away. He had a decent size advantage over Melo, and he is quick enough to keep up with him, so Wagner seemed to have the upper hand.
This was a fun change of pace to have someone from AAA answer the open challenge, Management clearly sees value in Wagner, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him make a permanent move to WWE eventually.
He and Hayes had a solid match that gave both men plenty of chances to shine. Melo continues to be one of the best parts of SmackDown every week. Wagner kicked out of the First 48, but he missed a moonsault and cleared the way for Melo to hit his finisher for the win.
Result: Hayes defeated Wagner
Grade: B-plus
Notable Moments and Observations
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Giulia and Kiana James
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Last time in action: Flair and Bliss defeated Judgment Day (SD, Jan. 30), Giulia and James lost to Rhiyo (SD, Feb. 6)
Nia Jax and Lash Legend came out to celebrate after winning the women's tag titles from Rhiyo last Friday. They bragged about winning the belts and toasted with champagne to their success as pyro went off near the stage.
Before they could even take a sip, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss came out and said the only reason they lost the titles a while back was that Jax and Legend kept getting involved in their matches. Giulia and Kiana James showed up to make their intentions clear, too.
This led to Aldis coming out and booking a tag match with the implication being that the winners would get a title shot in the future. We returned to see the match in progress with Flair taking it to both opponents until she was sent into the ring post.
All four Superstars had some good moments, and the match lasted through two commercial breaks, so they had ample time to make sure nothing felt rushed. They had a couple of hiccups, but most of what we got here was good.
The Queen scored the win for her team with Natural Selection to Giulia.
Result: Flair and Bliss defeated James and Giulia
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Tag Team Turmoil
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Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes had a tense exchange backstage before we went back to the ring for the Tag Team Turmoil match to determine the next No. 1 contenders for the MFT's tag titles. Here is a breakdown of how the match went:
Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga showed up to cost the Wyatt Sicks the match, so it looks like that feud is going to keep going.
The match played out like any other gauntlet match. Most of the action was entertaining, but something was holding it back. It might have something to do with the division being booked poorly in recent months, which kept this from being as exciting as it could be.
The exclusion of The Street Profits was also a weird choice, especially since they have barely been used recently.
Result: Truth and Priest won the match
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Face to Face
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After a backstage segment with Zayn and Orton talking, Rhea Ripley came to the ring for her face-to-face meeting with Jade Cargill.
These two had some interesting exchanges on social media this week, so WWE obviously wanted to capitalize on the buzz from that.
Cargill shook Ripley's hand and said she respects her and what she has accomplished, but she promised to win at WrestleMania. Ripley said she respected her honesty, but said Jade's body is only built for show while her's was built for fighting.
This was a pretty solid promo segment. They didn't overstay their welcome and said everything they needed to say without a bunch of filler.
Grade: B-
Johnny Gargano vs. Oba Femi
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Last time in action: Gargano lost to Frazer (SD, Jan. 30), Femi defeated The Miz (SD, Feb. 27)
Johnny Gargano came out and said it's time for him to be Johnny Wrestling again. He challenged anyone in the locker room to come out and fight him, and that led to Oba Femi showing up.
Gargano tried to wrestle The Ruler and quickly found himself in the corner being crushed by Femi's charging strikes. He hit the Fall From Grace for a very fast win.
This was the definition of a squash, so there isn't a fair way to grade this. It was basically three moves and then the pin.
Result: Femi defeated Gargano
Grade: Incomplete
Notable Moments and Observations
Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes
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Last time in action: McIntyre defeated Zayn (Royal Rumble), Cody Rhodes lost in the Chamber (Elimination Chamber)
Danhausen was shown asking Aldis to find him a mentor who would take him to the top. Aldis saw The Miz and told him to mentor Danhausen, but the A-Lister ended up cursed instead.
The main event of the night was the WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre tried to leave as soon as the ref called for the bell, but Rhodes chased him down and fought him back to the ring. The ref didn't even try to count them out.
The American Nightmare tried to hit Cross Rhodes on the announce table, but it collapsed when The Scottish Psychopath countered and fell onto it. McIntyre got another table from under the ring and put Rhodes through it with a powerbomb.
He also stole Rhodes' finisher, but he wasn't able to put him away with it. Cody was able to hit his finisher, but the ref was knocked out moments earlier. Another ref ran to the ring right as McIntyre hit the Claymore, but Rhodes kicked out.
McIntyre ended up intentionally knocking out the second ref out of anger and then grabbed a chair. Jacob Fatu took it away from him and Rhodes hit a cutter from the top rope followed by Cross Rhodes for the pin and the win.
These two men have known each other for a long time, so they had years of chemistry to draw from to make this a fun and physical main event. While the outcome may anger some fans, this was undeniably a great match.
Result: Rhodes defeated McIntyre
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
8 of 8Friday's episode of SmackDown did a good job addressing the Elimination Chamber while also putting the focus toward WrestleMania 42.
Other than the Femi vs. Gargano match being a squash, everything on the show felt like it worked. The tag team turmoil match was a bit lacking, but having Truth and Priest win creates an interesting opportunity to freshen up the tag title scene.
Hayes and Wagner put on a great show, but all eyes were on the main event this week. This was Rhodes' final opportunity to win back the title and earn a spot in the WrestleMania main event.
Having Rhodes win back the title this soon was shocking, and having it happen on a regular episode of SmackDown was even more surprising, but that also helped elevate the show.
Having Rhodes reclaim the title just two months after losing it is going to be a controversial decision among fans, so it will be interesting to see how WrestleMania plays out.
Grade: B+
