3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (16 Oct - Results & Review)
1. Cody Pulling The Trigger Saves It
An impromptu main event between Cody Rhodes and Baron Corbin was a weird choice, but it’s forgiven for the ending with Cody punting Corbs as Randy Orton looked on. That’s really the biggest story beat coming out of SmackDown: Rhodes finally showed he has that ruthless edge.
OK, so it would’ve been better had that come against someone more important than Corbin, but everyone can appreciate the story WWE tried to tell with this. They'd been teasing a darker side to Cody for a long time, and they had to serve up something tangible so Orton can either run scared or twist it in promos like a good heel would.
There wasn't much of a heroic babyface slant from Rhodes on Friday night. He was all business, and took his frustrations out on Baron when it seemed like RKO wasn't going to appear as scheduled. Again, slightly odd to position Corbin in this lofty a spot, but he had his job to do on SmackDown and did it well enough.
The most important thing was Rhodes seeing red and giving in to temptation on the punt anyway. He'd resisted the urge to 'get evil' countless times, and couldn't continue doing that without looking a little lame.
Now, if nothing else, this Cody vs. Randy feud has another wrinkle to chew over in backstage interviews and in-ring. After all, if Rhodes can soccer kick Corbin in the noggin, then he can certainly do it to Orton in a crunch match.
Some sort of gimmick blow off should be signed shortly.
What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 8 New Directions For WWE After Money In The Bank 2026 and 8 Amazing Wrestlers That Flopped In WCW!