Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes’ Brawl On WWE SmackDown Ends In Jaw-Dropping Twist

The main event of WWE SmackDown tonight was confirmed following the opening segment as things got even more heated between Randy Orton and Matt Cardona.

Orton attacked Cardona last week and ended up breaking the former Intercontinental Champion’s arm after stomping on a steel chair wrapped around it.

He came out in the opening segment of the show tonight and didn’t show any remorse over his actions, leading to Cardona knocking Orton out with a microphone to the head.

After Cardona attacked Orton, The Viper went up to Nick Aldis and asked to face Matt in the main event of tonight’s show and the match was made official. Randy looked to gain a quick advantage in the match, but Cardona used his cast to his advantage.

Cody Rhodes returned to WWE SmackDown tonight

He took control briefly before the Apex Predator continued to targeted his already broken left arm. Orton ripped Matt’s cast off midway through the match and carried on his assault on the injured arm.

Randy ultimately put him out of his misery after hitting Cardona with an RKO in the middle of the ring and pinned him for an easy win just as Cody Rhodes pulled up to SmackDown.

NO TIME FOR TALKING! 👊@RandyOrton@CodyRhodespic.twitter.com/tjP3D2kDAw

— WWE (@WWE) March 28, 2026

Cody was making his way down to the ring to Randy but Nick Aldis came out with security to stop him, but the American Nightmare claimed that he’s only here to talk. However, both of them began fighting in the middle of the ring before making their way ringside.

Security tried to separate the Undisputed WWE Champion from his WrestleMania challenger, but were unable to do so. In the end, Jelly Roll came out to try and put an end to the brawl, but was met with an RKO from Orton, which ultimately did end the brawl.

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