5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (2 Jan - Results & Review)
2. “Happy New Year, Miz!”
Credit where it's due: It was a fabulous decision to kick off the first 3 hour edition of SmackDown in 2026 with a moany Miz eating some RKO goodness. Randy Orton returning for the first time since October to hit his finish injected the show with much-needed energy from the off. That's something WWE will probably lean on throughout this latest 3 hour run, and rightly so.
Miz was ranting about his miserable 2025, including last week’s loss to Joe Hendry, then he pitched a tag-team with Orton like that was ever going to happen. Sensing what was coming, fans were delighted to see Randy blast the heel then repeat the trick when they chanted "one more time" over and over again. Better yet, Orton's evening wasn't over there.
Later, he approached Cody Rhodes and told his ex-stablemate he’s coming for the WWE Title once his old Legacy cohort is finished with Drew McIntyre and this '3 Stages Of Hell' business in Berlin. Arguably, that suggests that McIntyre has no chance of leaving Germany as the new WWE Champion, which might irk some, but nothing is guaranteed at time of writing.
It'd be a seismic shock if Drew walked out of the steel cage following all 3 falls next week, then dropped the belt back to Cody in time for Rhodes clashing with Randy at WrestleMania 42. SmackDown's top title scene does need that kind of shift heading through the most important quarter of the year, y'know.
It's fantastic to see Randy back doing his thing anyway.