7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (13 March - Results & Review)
Randy Orton turns "heel"; Drew McIntyre quits; WWE still doesn't feel on the road to WrestleMania.
WWE tried to up the ante on this week's SmackDown, but it's hard to shake the feeling that nothing feels particularly 'Road To WrestleMania' about anything going on. Y'know that thing people say every December when it hits the 15th/16th? 'I'm not really feeling Christmassy'. Yeah, well this is pro wrestling's version of that. There's still time for things to change, and maybe the excitement will kick in soon, but wow - this has been the rockiest of rocky roads to the biggest weekender of 2026.
Randy Orton will do everything in his power to rectify things, and there are certainly worse ideas than turning the clocks back to 2009 when he was a vicious son of a bitch and had a frankly murderous look in his eyes weekly. Unfortunately for WWE boss Triple H, there was a positive and a negative to report on following Friday's big moment.
There was plenty of rock solid wrestling though, that's important to note.
Everyone from R-Truth and Damian Priest to Tiffany Stratton, Kiana James, Trick Williams and Jacob Fatu brought some thunder to Smackers and refused to phone it in. Sadly, the same cannot be said for creative's approach to everything going on between Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley, or the interminable Wyatt Sicks vs. MFTs business.
Looking on the bright side, some stuff is starting to fall into place for 'Mania across the board. No, things don't feel pulsating or palpable, but maybe that'll change now steps have been made towards matches in the main event scene and on the undercard for 18-19 April.
Here's every plus point and downer from SmackDown.