Friday Night SmackDown Review - March 20, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jacob Fatu Attacked Drew McIntyre

It's always refreshing when WWE starts off any of their shows with something different, such as the hot brawl we got here between Fatu and McIntyre. It started in the parking lot, bled over into the ring and never overstayed its welcome. Fatu getting color was a nice touch, too. We didn't get the advertised match between these two on this show, but I'm actually happier with what we got instead, especially since it was stretched throughout the entire episode.

R-Truth and Damian Priest def. The MFTs (JC Mateo and Tama Tonga) to Win the WWE Tag Team Championship

I don't remember it ever being established that The MFTs were using the Freebird Rule as WWE Tag Team Champions, but it's not like it matters anyway since this was their first televised title defense and they lost. The match was decent. The makeshift pairing of Truth and Priest doesn't do much for me (or the division as a whole), but at least they're over with the audience. At this point, it feels like WWE is waiting until WrestleMania 42 to blow off the MFTs vs. Wyatt Sicks feud.

The Motor City Machine Guns def. Fraxiom

The Guns have been booked like such afterthoughts since SummerSlam that it's great to see them finally getting some sort of a story. The idea is that Alex Shelley is willing to accept help from Candice LeRae because of his history with Johnny Gargano, and her involvement in the finish here went unnoticed by Chris Sabin. The commercial break took up most of the match, but what we got to see was good despite the crowd sitting on their hands for it.

Randy Orton Explained His Actions

Orton wasn't as much in heel mode here as he should have been. Sure, he explained his actions by saying that he did what he had to do and went so far as to say that endearing himself to the fans made him feel empty inside, but it wasn't enough to turn this crowd against him. Granted, that's going to be difficult to do regardless of what he says or does, but he could have had better logic. Hopefully he'll still get there.

Aleister Black def. Sami Zayn

This match made sense to do at some point following their recent interaction backstage. Black has basically taken Karrion Kross' old gimmick of playing mind games with people and Zayn is at a crossroads as a character right now. Zayn being too focused on Trick Williams at ringside was what cost him in the end, and I like that Black won. The match itself was solid prior to that point. Zayn vs. Williams should be the WrestleMania matchup.

WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab Attacked Rhea Ripley

Ripley and Cargill's promo exchange was unfortunately more of the same. Their program peaked with their Twitter drama in the days after the match was made official and nothing they've said or done on television has been remotely as interesting. That said, Michin and B-Fab joining Cargill and attacking Ripley here (albeit to crickets) was a cool development. I guess this makes them Cargill's new "baddies" and I'm in full favor of the move.

United States Champion Carmelo Hayes def. Ilja Dragunov

I'm shocked this wasn't advertised in advance because they've been building it up for months in backstage segments. I thought it'd be saved for WrestleMania, and that could still be where this is headed, but now I'm not so sure. Nonetheless, this was far and away the best thing on the show this week, as you'd expect. Their chemistry is so strong together and they never cease to have excellent matches. This was no exception.

Kit Wilson Attacked Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll wanted an impromptu match with Wilson, which I would have been totally fine with, but Wilson wanted a rap (er, poetry) battle. The material wasn't my cup of tea, but the crowd seemed to be into it. Wilson getting the better of Jelly Roll this week was a pleasant surprise. I maintain that this is leading to Wilson and The Miz facing Jelly Roll and most likely Danhausen at WrestleMania.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions The Irresistible Forces def. The Bella Twins by Disqualification

This was almost the exact same thing we got a week ago with Irresistible Forces vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, except worse. The match was total throwaway up until the obvious interference finish with Flair and Bliss getting involved. I know the Bellas haven't teamed in almost a decade, but hopefully they'll find their footing again as a team by WrestleMania when they challenge for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship in some sort of a multi-team bout.

Randy Orton Attacked Matt Cardona

I appreciated how the stuff with Orton lasted for most of the show. However, Cardona was made to look like such a moron for taking that verbal abuse earlier and then trusting Orton here before getting attacked. Everyone but him could see that coming. I'm all for doing more with Cardona, but this did him no favors. It didn't help that the crowd chanted "One more time!" at Orton. I can't imagine that's what they were going for since he's supposed to be a heel now.

Overall Show

Last week's SmackDown was one of the worst episodes I've seen in some time. This was far from a stellar show, but it was an improvement. The follow-up to Orton's heel turn could've been better, but it was still a highlight along with the United States Championship clash. Everything else was adequate. It feels more like WrestleMania season on Raw than it does on SmackDown at the moment, so they need to start building some real momentum in the four weeks we have left.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews