The March 27, 2026 episode of Friday Night SmackDown will be broadcast live from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as WWE continues its march towards WrestleMania 42. As tensions rise in multiple rivalries, this week’s show will feature returning stars, the fallout from recent turmoil, and some key matches.
Cody Rhodes is set to return to SmackDown for the first time since being sidelined after a brutal assault by Randy Orton. Fans are emotional and waiting to hear what Rose has to say about the Viper attack.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis also addressed the feud between Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu following a violent brawl in which both men crashed through a guardrail outside the arena. As WrestleMania 42 approaches, any updates on their status could have a big impact.
Jelly Roll will return to the ring in his first match since last year, taking on Kit Wilson following a heated showdown last week. Julia is scheduled to face Tiffany Stratton in a singles match, while Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair are scheduled to face the Bella Twins in a tag team match.
Randy Orton, who started his attack on Matt Cardona last week, will also be in attendance, adding even more excitement to the night.
The show begins at 8pm ET on USA Network and will be available for international fans to watch on streaming platforms such as Netflix. Ringside News provides live match-by-match updates and highlights throughout the night. Please keep checking this page. Refresh to see the latest results as the action unfoldsjoin the conversation in the comments section below!
Matches and key moments scheduled for WWE SmackDown on March 27, 2026
- Cody Rhodes is back
- Starring Randy Orton
- Nick Aldis talks about Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre’s fallout
- Jelly Roll vs. Kit Wilson
- Julia vs. Tiffany Stratton
- Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. The Bella Twins
WWE SmackDown Results (3/27/26): Live Match Updates and Highlights
The announcers welcome the viewers to SmackDown and remind everyone that WrestleMania 42 is just 22 days away.
It depicts the Bella Twins arriving at the arena. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss are seen walking down the hallway backstage. Julia’s backstage is also shown. Tiffany Stratton is outside near a production truck. Kit Wilson is shown reading a poem and Jelly Roll is shown taking time to greet fans.
A replay from last week is shown where Randy Orton attacked Matt Cardona.
Randy Orton heads to the ring and his theme plays. Despite being a heel, fans sing along to his entrance song. Randy Orton said that when he stood next to Cody Rhodes in the ring two weeks ago, Cody looked him in the eye and told him he needed to be the best version of Randy Orton. Cody tells him to become Viper again and listen to the voices in his head. Randy says he cut those voices off a long time ago, but in recent years he’s thought a lot about No. 15 and the legacy he’ll leave behind after he’s gone. Then, out of nowhere, Cody gave him his blessing.
Now that she’s listening to those voices again, Randy says she needs to warn everyone that she’s not responsible for what happens next. He says it’s not the voices inside your head that are the problem, it’s the voices outside your head that are the real problem. He added that there is one person listening now… just one voice.
Matt Cardona suddenly interjected. Randy asks Matt if he wants him to break his other arm. Matt hits Randy with a microphone and knocks him to the floor, making it clear that he wants a piece of Randy.
Backstage, Nick Aldis can be seen as Trick Williams enters. Trick tells Nick to say what he wants. Nick is impressed by Trick and says that Trick has become a major player. Trick then announced that he would have a match at WrestleMania.
Trick congratulates and says he needs to call someone, his mother, Rush, and Little Yachty. Sami Zayn comes in and tells him Trick is going to WrestleMania. Sami congratulates the trick, but asks Nick what it means to him at WrestleMania. Nick tells Sami that things haven’t been going well lately and he needs to defend his championship. He also added that Sami is currently ineligible for WrestleMania unless things change.
Trick taunts Sami and tells him that he will see him soon, wishing him good luck for next year. As Trick continues to talk loudly to Nick, Sami suddenly punches Trick and declares: intention We’ll have a match at WrestleMania.
When we returned from the break, Randy Orton was yelling at Nick Aldis, demanding a match with Matt Cardona. Nick brings up Matt’s arm injury, but Randy reminds him that he was the one who injured Matt’s arm in the first place. Randy says that if he doesn’t win this match, the voices in his head will cause something bad to happen. Nick agrees to give Randy the match and tells him to calm down.
Before the opening match begins, Rush Legend and Nia Jax come out to watch from ringside. Nia said there’s still time to buy tickets for Raw, where she and Rush will face Bayley and Lyra Valkyrie for the tag titles. She says fans will see these nominees tonight, but it’s because of them that they’re in the spotlight. Rush said people think the Bella Twins are hot, but he tells the audience to watch the Bella Twins instead. She also claims that Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss have a fake friendship.
Nikki Bella & Brie Bella vs Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss
Charlotte Flair and Nikki Bella start the match. Flair hits a shoulder tackle on Bellatoire. Nikki sends Flair into the ropes but Flair hits a Flair flip and kicks both Nikki and Brie. Flair goes for a rollup but Nikki counters with a facebuster.
Brie tags in and goes to the top rope and hits a double sled to the arm. Brie follows with a chop, but Flair sends Brie into the turnbuckle and chops her. Alexa Bliss tags in and Flair sends Alexa into Brie with a kick. Brie counters with a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall. Nikki tags in. Brie goes for a sunset flip, but Alexa tags in and kicks Brie. Brie pulls Alexa into the ring skirt and Nikki and Brie trade forearms.
The action slows down for a moment as Rush Legend and Nia Jax watch from ringside. Nikki drags Alexa off the apron and sends her into Rush and Nia. The referee warns everyone and Nikki sends Alexa back into the ring. Nikki applies an armbar and hits a knee to the midsection, sending Alexa into the turnbuckle. Brie tags in and hits a double suplex for a nearfall. Brie locks in an armbar and twists Alexa’s arm. Alexa fights back with punches but Brie sends her into the turnbuckles. Nikki tags in and kicks Alexa in the arm, then hits a snapmare and applies another armbar. Nikki sends Alexa into the turnbuckle and Brie tags in. The two hit double flapjacks for nearfalls. Brie kicks Alexa into the corner. Alexa fights back with a forearm but Brie stops her from tagging in.
Brie sends Alexa into the turnbuckle and Nikki tags in as well. Alexa kicks Nikki and tries to roll away, but Nikki stops her. Nikki hits a spinebuster and knocks Flair off the apron. Flair tries to go back in, but the referee holds her back while Nikki and Brie continue to deal with Alexa. Brie goes to the top rope and hits a knee into Alexa’s arm. Nikki tags in, but Alexa counters with a double suplex and goes for a double DDT. Flair tags in at the end and goes to the top rope and hits a crossbody. Flair follows up with a chop and hits a walkover clothesline on Nikki. She connects with an Exploder Suplex to Brie and then Nikki. Alexa tags back in and hits a big hit on Brie for a near fall. The Bellas performed a heart attack on Alexa, almost forcing her to fall. Nikki kicks Flair and sends her to the floor, Nikki and Flair fall to the ground near Rush and Nia at ringside. Alexa throws a punch at Brie, but Brie counters with an O’Connor roll. Alexa rolls around and almost falls. Rush punches Alexa from the floor and Brie gets the three count.
Winner: Nikki Bella and Brie Bella
After the match, Nia Jax and Rush Legend attacked Nikki, Brie, Alexa, and Flair. Rush and Nia are in the ring with Alexa and Rush locks in a bearhug while Nia climbs onto the turnbuckle. Lyra Valkyrie and Bayley run to the ring and chase after Nia and Rush. Bayley and Lyla double dropkick Nia and send Rush over the top rope to the floor. Flair knocked Brie down and had a few words with her before leaving the ring.
Now let’s take a look at the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
Damian Priest comes backstage and sees R-Truth talking to construction workers. Truth says he is building a clubhouse since Judgment Day has returned, but Priest disagrees. Jelly Roll walks up and congratulates Priest. Truth mistakes Jellyroll for Dominic, and Jerry says he looks different without the mustache.
Rhea Ripley appears and Truth says that Mami and Dom are back together. Jerry says it’s not his place to give Leah advice, but Jade says she’s tough and mean and reminds her that she’s Rhea Ripley. Truth then runs off in pursuit of someone she thinks is Dom. Rhea looks confused and asks what is going on. She then congratulated Priest on becoming tag team champions. Priest says she didn’t expect it, but believes she will win the title at WrestleMania. He tells Leah to work on her job with Jade. Then we move on to commercials.
Backstage, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair confront Nikki and Brie Bella, who want to know what happened. Alexa said she was punched in the face. Flair tells Nikki and Brie to get to the back of the line. Nikki and Brie respond that it’s not their fault and say they will do whatever it takes to become tag team champions.
Rhea Ripley then heads to the ring. Let’s take a look back at last week, when Jade introduced two new allies. Rhea Ripley says she didn’t expect honesty from Jade. She said she thought Jade would do anything to keep her hands clean, but she didn’t expect B-Fab and Michin to be so desperate that they fell to Jade’s level. Rhea says she doesn’t care who she has to go through to get to WrestleMania. She said she came dressed for the day and invited them to the ring.
Jade’s music plays and she takes the stage with Michin and B-Fab. Jade says Rhea seems confident for a player who was eliminated last week. She said Michin and B-Fab have established themselves and have no intention of holding them back.
According to B-Fab, Rhea insisted she would do anything to stop them. She calls Rhea a traitor and says she is not worried about the sacrifice as she is focused on the reward. Michin says he has been trying to do the same thing as Leah for years, but while they have been ignored, Leah has been the only one getting attention. She says now they want that moment.
According to B-Fab, Jade had a plan and they jumped at the opportunity. She says Jade has money and power, and if Rhea wants to be defeated, she can come forward. Jade then says Rhea is just a guest on SmackDown and announces that B-Fab will stand up to confront her. Rhea teaches B-Fab a lesson tonight and says she will teach Jade at WrestleMania that actions have consequences. She says Jade won’t be able to protect B-Fab from her.
B-Fab vs. Rhea Ripley
Before the match can begin in earnest, Rhea kicks Michin to the floor and goes after Jade. B-Fab intervenes but Jade punches Rhea and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner: Rhea Ripley (by disqualification)
After the match, Rhea punched Jade and went for Riptide, but Michin and B-Fab jumped her. B-Fab attacks Rhea with a boot and Jade finishes the attack with a Jaded.
Backstage, The Miz is with Kit Wilson and Kit talks about how happy he is to have The Miz in his corner. Miz tells Kit that he doesn’t need him after what happened last week and that he’s trying to stay away from sharp objects. Kit brings up the topic of curses, but Miz says there are no curses. He also says he has to be in Pittsburgh. Danhausen suddenly appears behind Kit and asks what Kit has that he doesn’t have. Kit says he’s looking at the role and tells Danhausen to look at himself. Danhausen cuts Kit off before calling him poisonous and says he has a curse on Kit.
There’s footage from last week’s fight between Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu, which focuses on both men falling off a metal structure in a parking lot.
We then head backstage and Drew McIntyre is shown slowly entering the building. When she asks him what happened, he says it was due to his stubbornness, before telling him what Jacob did to him. Drew says he’s not here to fight tonight, but if Jacob wants to start something, he’ll finish it. He says that Jacob took everything from him, and that humans are most dangerous when they have nothing left to lose.
We return to ringside as Jelly Roll enters the next match. A replay of the slam poetry segment between Jelly Roll and Kit Wilson that led to tonight’s match is shown. Jelly Roll stands in the ring, looking up for spiritual guidance before the match.
Kit Wilson then appears and grabs the microphone. He says he will defend his mother’s honor tonight, recites a poem about jelly rolls, and ends with his catchphrase. Jelly responds by saying it’s time to work on this, and the match officially begins.
Jelly Roll vs Kit Wilson
Kit Wilson blindsides Jelly Roll into the ropes in the corner, but Jerry counters with a leg drop to the groin followed by an atomic drop. Jerry goes for a bionic elbow, but Wilson blocks it and skins the cat before returning to the ring, but hits a clothesline and falls out of the ring.
Kit picks up a poetry book before returning to the ring, but Jelly Roll takes it and looks like he’s going to use it before the referee pulls it away. With that distraction, Kit takes control and sends Jerry to the mat, punching him in the head.
Kit mocks Jerry with his pose and knocks him down again. He continues to taunt Jerry before bringing him into the corner, but Jerry dodges and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Kit stands up and the referee begins the count. Jelly rises as well and the two begin exchanging attacks back and forth. Jelly Roll tries for a chokeslam, but Kit Wilson shakes it off and runs to the corner, but is taken out by a powerslam. Jerry covers, but Wilson kicks out at two.
Kit gets up and hits a throat punch, sending Jerry into the corner. Jerry tries to use the poetry book again, so the referee warns Kit. Wilson avoids it, drops Jerry to the mat, and closes it again with a near fall. The next change brings the kit back to the corner. Jerry then grabbed Kit and hit a chokeslam for the pinfall victory.
Winner by pinfall: Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll celebrates his victory and brings his son to ringside. The two then climb the slope together.
Backstage, Matt Cardona was shown warming up for his match against Randy Orton, reminding everyone that he is always ready.
Next time, we’ll take a look back at what happened between Roman Reigns and CM Punk on Raw.
On commentary, they talk about WrestleMania and then show a replay of CM Punk’s match on Raw with The Usos and Roman Reigns. The corner ended with Punk being tabled, but he said it wasn’t him who needed help.
Backstage, Solo Chicoa apologizes to MFT for expecting too much. He says Roman Reigns wouldn’t have apologized. Tama Tonga is left alone when Carmelo Hayes walks up and asks if Tama is finally going to challenge for the United States Championship or if he is waiting for Solo to give him permission. Carmelo then walks away. Shinsuke Nakamura then approaches Tama and gives him a similar challenge before Tara steps in to check on Tama. They leave as Show returns to ringside.
Carmelo Hayes then appeared and was ready to issue the U.S. Championship Open Challenge.
US Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes vs. Sami Zayn
We went back to ringside to see who would answer the open challenge and the crowd had a huge reaction as Sami Zayn made his way to the ring. Commentary talks about the full circle moment as Sami prepares for the match.
Just then, Trick Williams appears. The crowd reacts as Trick goes down the ramp. It turned out that he was only there to watch from ringside as the match officially began.
Sami Zayn takes the champion to the ropes and hits a back suplex for a two count, followed by a barrage of chops. He sent Carmelo Hayes to the mat for another near fall before Hayes used the ropes to pull him up into the corner. Hayes fires a few more shots and then fires back and drops Sami with a dropkick. He corners Sami with a kick to the back and a leg drop. Trick Williams watched from ringside and approved Hayes’ attack heading into the commercial break.
Back from the break, both fighters get back to their feet and start trading strikes. Sami Zayn catches Carmelo Hayes off guard and sends him over the top rope to the floor. Sami also takes Hayes down with a dive to the outside. Sami then stared at Trick Williams before bringing Hayes back into the ring. Sami climbs to the top rope, but Hayes cuts him off with a dropkick for a near fall. Hayes avoids a clothesline and hits a tilt-a-whirl facebuster on Sami Zayn. Sami fought back and countered Fast 48’s powerbomb attempt to get a two count. He drives Hayes into the corner, but the champion avoids a helluva kick. Hayes goes to the top rope but Sami cuts him off and they fight on the turnbuckle and Sami hits a superplex. Both men go down as the show progresses to picture-in-picture.
Picture-in-picture shows both players slowly rising to their feet and exchanging strikes. Sami hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Trick Williams is shown watching from ringside as Sami plans his next move. Sami gets Hayes to his feet and hits a chop that drops Mero to the mat. Sami goes for a suplex but Hayes blocks it and hits a cutter for a near fall. When the show returns from break, Hayes takes Sami to the corner. Back from the break and Sami counters with a Sunset Powerbomb for a two count. Mero fights back with a thrust kick on Sami Zayn, but Sami fights back with an exploder suplex that slams Mero into the turnbuckle. Sami goes for a helluva kick, but Hayes fights back and hits a fast 48. Goes for the cover but Sami kicks out at two.
Sami intercepts Melo in the corner and counters with a Blue Thunder Bomb from the Nothing But Net for a nearfall. At ringside, Trick Williams grabs the United States Title and presents it to Sami, almost trying to use it. Sami refuses and gets on the apron to tackle Trick. When Sami turns around, Haze grabs him from behind, but Trick accidentally hits Haze with his right hand. Sami hesitated for a moment, but took advantage of the opportunity. He hit a helluva kick, giving Hayes the victory.
Winner by pinfall and new United States Champion: Sami Zayn
Sami celebrated in the ring and Trick Williams looked shocked and confused at ringside before walking to the back.
Backstage, Jacob Fatu is asked about Drew McIntyre. He says he plans to tell people who live in Pittsburgh. Jacob then heads to the ring and it looks like we’ll hear from him next as the show goes to commercial.
Some members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are shown sitting ringside at tonight’s SmackDown.
Backstage, Sami Zayn walks down the hallway celebrating winning the US title. He asks Nick Aldis if there is a WrestleMania match currently. Aldis admitted that was the case, but told Sami he would defend his US title against Trick Williams. Sami is excited about the news as the show continues.
Jacob Fatu returns to ringside and makes his way to the ring as footage is shown again showing the damage from last week’s match with Drew McIntyre. Jacob grabbed the mic and talked about his injury, saying it all goes back to Drew McIntyre. He said Drew tried to take food off the children’s table by trying to take them out, and asked if Drew really thought what he did last week would bring the children down. Jacob is still standing and says he will continue chasing Drew McIntyre for as long as he can breathe.
Drew McIntyre then comes out on stage with a microphone. He says he is the real victim in this situation and calls Jacob a criminal. Drew said Jacob stole his title, stole his WrestleMania moment, and took everything away from him. He responds to Jacob’s comment about his family by saying that the food Jacob spoke of is actually his, and ends his message with harsh words for Jacob’s family.
Nick Aldis jumps out to prevent things from getting physical. He says neither fighter is ready to fight tonight, but says they will be ready by April 18th at WrestleMania. Aldis has announced that Drew McIntyre will face Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania, and the match will be an unsanctioned match with no disqualification or countout. The referee is only there to count falls or check submissions. Drew seems happy with this decision and Jacob seems ready for a fight as well.
Backstage, Matt Cardona continues to warm up when Aleister Black and Zelina Vega enter. They talk about old Randy Orton and appear to walk away firing a gun at Cardona.
Elsewhere, Chelsea Green runs into Tiffany Stratton and tries to give her advice about playing against Julia, but Tiffany doesn’t seem interested.
Julia vs. Tiffany Stratton
We then returned to ringside as Julia and Kiana James appeared. Julia will next face Tiffany Stratton in a non-title match. We return to ringside as Tiffany Stratton makes her entrance to a strong reaction from the crowd. She gets in the ring and the match begins.
Although Giulia got off to a slow start, she quickly took the lead. The test of strength ends in Giulia’s favor as Giulia forces Tiffany into the corner twice. Julia then knocks Tiffany to the mat twice and keeps the pressure on. Tiffany fought back with a cartwheel, followed up with a dropkick, and connected well enough for a nearfall. Julia tumbles out of the ring to catch her breath while Tiffany stands in the ring and stares at Julia as the show heads to commercial. Tiffany gets Julia up, but Julia gets back up and hits a forearm. Tiffany answers with a forearm of her own and a running hip to the back. Julia avoids a double stomp and rolls Tiffany for a near fall.
Julia follows up with a kick and a running knee, forcing her into a near fall again. She kicks Tiffany in the head and puts her on the turnbuckle, setting her up for a butterfly superplex, but Tiffany blocks it. Tiffany slams Julia face-first into the mat and hits a swanton for a nearfall.
Julia stops a handspring attempt with a kick. Tiffany escapes a Northern Lights Bomb and hits a Finley Slam. Tiffany heads to the turnbuckle, but Kiana James distracts her by climbing onto the ring steps. Tiffany comes off the top and Julia gets on her knees for the pin.
Winner: Julia
After the match, Kathy Kelly interviewed Lyra Valkyrie and Bayley about why they were at ringside first. Bayley said she wanted to show everyone who runs the tag division. Lyra said they were the biggest threat to the tag titles, and Bayley added that if they won the titles, the division would be in the spotlight.
Backstage, Randy Orton is shown on the phone telling his partner that he will “see you soon.”
We return from the break with a video package focused on Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar. There will then be commentary on the WrestleMania card, including the new matches that have been added.
Randy Orton vs. Matt Cardona
Matt Cardona uses a cast to slam Randy Orton in the head to gain momentum. He takes Orton out of the ring, but Orton fights back and sends Cardona into the announce table. Orton goes for the injured arm and slams him into the table, trapping him there.
Orton rolled into the ring, beating the referee’s count, and continued to attack Cardona’s arm before returning him to the ring. Matt fights back out of the corner and hits the Rough Rider and goes for the cover, but Orton kicks out.
Orton rolls to the outside and tries to recover, but Cardona follows. It turned out to be a trap, as Orton blindsided him and attacked his injured arm again. He slams Cardona shoulder-first into the ring post and slams his arm into the steel steps. Orton sends Cardona back into the ring and into the opposite ring post.
Orton removed the cast from Cardona’s arm and bent his hand back until the referee intervened. Orton hits a snap suplex and stomps on his injured arm. He taunted Cardona before slamming him into the ring post again, continuing to aim for the arm despite the referee’s warning. In the end, Orton scored the RKO and won.
Winner by pinfall: Randy Orton
Orton raises his arms and celebrates his victory. At the same time, Cody Rhodes’ tour bus is shown arriving at the parking lot.
During the picture-in-picture, Cody slowly walked through the backstage area, clearly upset by Orton’s actions. Jelly Roll met up with Cody backstage, and Orton returned to ringside and chased after security who tried to remove him from the ring while waiting for Cody to arrive. The show then returns from intermission. Cody Rhodes music blares as he slowly makes his way down the ramp. Nick Aldis comes out with security and tries to stop him, but Cody ignores the warning and goes straight to the ring.
Once inside, Cody and Randy Orton immediately start trading punches. The fight spills outside and the two fight on the announce table until security pulls Cody away.
Orton starts to back away but pulls security aside so he can get a few more shots in. Cody fights back by dragging his WrestleMania opponent into the ring. Officials rush in and separate the two men in a corner as the crowd chants “Let them fight!” Just when things seemed to be calming down, Cody broke free and charged Orton again. Cody gets on top of Randy Orton on the announce table, but security pulls him back onto the apron. Cody returns to the ring, followed by Randy. Cody punches Randy as security rushes in again to separate them.
Cody breaks through security and hits Randy with more punches. Jelly Roll rushes into the ring to calm Cody down, but Randy escapes from security and slams Jelly Roll with an RKO. Randy then leaves the ring and heads to the back with a big smile on his face and the show ends.
