Randy Orton Returns On 3-Hour SmackDown - Challenges Cody Rhodes (WWE News)
WWE booked a MAJOR return on Friday's 3-hour long edition of SmackDown.
Randy Orton returned to WWE screens on the first 3 hour long SmackDown of 2026. 'The Viper' confronted The Miz early on in the show - Miz was ranting about how he'd been humiliated by Joe Hendry last week. That's when Orton's trademark music hit, the live crowd popped, and a panicky heel pitched "MizKO" to Randy.
No dice. Orton dropped him with an RKO amidst cheers, but The Miz won't be the returning veteran's first major feud back. They'll probably have a match at some point to ease Randy back into action, but he has something bigger in mind. It looks like Triple H is finally ready to pull the trigger on a Legacy vs. Legacy situation.
Later in the night, Orton approached Cody Rhodes and told the reigning WWE Champion that he plans to come for his belt once Cody is finished seeing off Drew McIntyre. Of course, some will point out that this suggests Rhodes is 100% winning the upcoming '3 Stages Of Hell' clash with the Scot.
That isn't nailed on, but Rhodes defending vs. Randy does have Royal Rumble or even WrestleMania written all over it. The bout remains one of the biggest cards WWE's creative team can play in the new year. This one has been simmering for a long, long time now.
Fans will be delighted to see Orton back on TV regardless of whether he's next in line to challenge Cody or not. This marked his first appearance since the 3 October edition of SmackDown.
Cody Set For '3 Stages Of Hell' Showdown With Drew McIntyre
Each stage in the upcoming '3 Stages Of Hell' match between Cody and McIntyre has been confirmed. Drew did the honours on Friday night by laying out exactly how he plans to take the WWE Title away from his arch nemesis during a heated promo segment on the bumper episode.
The first fall will be a straight up/standard pro wrestling match. The second will be 'Falls Count Anywhere', and the third fall ("if necessary") will be inside a steel cage. Most fans could've predicted those stipulations, so it would've been nice to see WWE shake things up a bit by surprising everybody.
Cody vs. Drew is set to steal the show over in Berlin, Germany despite the obviousness of those stips.